Mumbai City FC and FC Pune City, the state rivals, clashed in the 35th game of ISL 2016 at Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday. FC Pune City needed a win in this match to keep their semifinals hopes alive and after their victory over Atletico Kolkata, they had all the confidence needed to win this match.
FC Mumbai City had also not seen a defeat in their last three matches and being at the home ground against FC Pune City was another advantage for the team. The stadium was a full house with over 7000 attendees and what they saw was the best of football they could have got anywhere.
Both the teams are famous for their disciplined playing tactics and that is what we witnessed in this match as the decider was scored during the last moments of the match.
FC Pune City fabricated the first chance at goal during the initial stage when Rahul Bheke’s cross towards Traore was misjudged by the Mumbai Goalkeeper but was saved somehow.
The home crowd saw an early substitution when Leo Costa was taken off due to a groin injury but Mumbai City FC didn’t let it affect the team’s performance, much to the relief of fans.
In the 12th minute, the home team created a great chance when Thiago Cunha received a teasing cross from Diego Forlan inside the box and played it to approaching Sehnaj Singh. However, the midfielder was not able to score as his shot went way wide.
Neither team was able to open the opposition’s defence and the game continued with a lull as both the sides were playing the waiting game. Both the teams showed no urgency in scoring the goal.
The first half ended with both the team still seeking to score their numero uno goals.
15 minutes into the half time, there was no sign of either team breaking the deadlock and this continued till the final stage of the match. The match was going towards a goalless draw.
When the crowd became sure of a draw, FC Pune City came from nowhere and scored a goal in the 89th minute of the match.
A loose ball into Mumbai’s box was received by Pune’s Eugeneson and he shot the ball straight into the opposition’s nets.
Everybody, including some of the FC Pune City players were shocked after witnessing the incident and for the first time, the visitors managed to pick a three point victory in ISL 2016.
FC Pune City is now in the top four of the league tally, another first for the franchise.
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11 November 2016
Rohan Jaitly