Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham is proud of his team's reaction and determination in the second half, leading to a thrilling comeback win against Punjab FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai on Thursday

A brilliant 60-second sequence in the final quarter of the second half handed Mumbai City FC their third win of the season, propelling them to the second spot in the points table, just behind Mohun Bagan Super Giant. Before the score levelled, Punjab FC appeared more organized and compact, maintaining their one-goal lead for over 40 minutes.

Punjab FC captain Luka Majcen scored his second goal of the ISL 2023-24 season, giving the Shers the initial lead. However, Mumbai City FC, staged a heroic comeback, scoring two goals within a single minute that changed the dynamics of the match. Greg Stewart shone with his precise left-footed finish, followed by Jorge Pereyra Diaz's stunning strike from Lallianzuala Chhangte's decisive cut-in, which helped the Islanders reverse the result in their favour.

“I'm extremely proud of what I've just seen, that reaction, certainly, from halftime onwards; and to come back in the manner we did, that's a strong statement to make, and it shows that whether we go ahead or whether we go behind, we've got the ability to change the game if we need to,” Buckingham said in the post-match press conference.

“Full credit to the players for the way that they adapted to that at halftime, and that just shows the importance of making sure that we continue to evolve our game,” he added.

With Stewart's goal, Mumbai City FC reached the milestone of scoring 100 goals in 47 matches under Buckingham, joining FC Goa and Hyderabad FC as the only clubs to achieve this record under a single head coach.

The Scottish playmaker was once again on top of his game. Commenting on Stewart's performance tonight, the Englishman said: "Greg's gotten better game by game so far this year for us; I think teams he's obviously been player of the season for two of the years he's been here," he said.

“Teams try to do different things, whether it's man-marking him or closing off spaces. And he's able to find ways. And I said this in the last press conference for our environment: he's excellent in terms of how he approaches and how professional he can be. He leads extremely well, but he's a player that can also change the game in a moment,” Buckingham added.

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Mumbai City FCPunjab FC2023-2024