Mumbai City FC registered their first victory of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 season with a 2-0 win over FC Pune City at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday.

  • Modou Sougou registered his maiden goal for the club with a close-range finish in the 25th
  • Rafael Bastos doubled Mumbai’s lead near the halfway mark by slotting home the spot kick, which also marked the first penalty awarded this season.
  • Vishal Kaith pulled off a stunning save in injury-time to deny Lucian Goian from the spot.

The match started on a quiet note with much of the action taking place in midfield. The hosts came close to breaking the deadlock in the 10th minute when Arnold Issoko attempted an audacious bicycle kick from Paulo Machado’s free-kick. His effort seemed goal bound but the Pune defenders were at hand to see off the danger.

The visitor’s best chance of the half fell to Nikhil Poojari, ten minutes later, when a floated ball from Emiliano Alfaro was met by the young winger, but his resulting shot failed to trouble Amrinder Singh in goal.

As the match reached the 25th-minute mark, the hosts took the lead through Sougou. An over-hit cross from Machado down the left wing was poorly judged by Vishal Kaith in goal, with the ball hitting the far post before kindly falling into the path of the Senegalese forward. He made no mistake with the rebound effort, smashing the ball in past Kaith.

The Islanders could have doubled their lead a couple of minutes later when Issoko was released through on goal. However, his shot from just outside the box was relatively tame, allowing Kaith to save comfortably.

With the Stallions pushing for the equaliser, Jorge Costa’s men exploited the extra space on the counter and Sougou won a penalty for his side after being recklessly brought down by Lalchhuanmawia Fanai. Bastos took the subsequent penalty and calmly slotted the ball down the middle of the net to give Mumbai a healthy two-goal cushion, just before half-time.

Despite the lead, Mumbai were not holding back and nearly scored their third, ten minutes into the second half. Machado split through the Pune defence, skipping past a couple of challenges before unleashing a curling effort that narrowly missed the bottom corner.

With time running out, the Stallions went in search of goals and nearly pulled one back through Alfaro’s attempt in a crowded penalty box. His shot beat Amrinder, but smashed the bar before Mumbai were able to clear their lines.

The Islanders had the chance to score their third goal in added time when they were awarded a penalty after Issoko was brought down inside the box. However, Kaith produced a stunning stop to deny Goian from registering his first goal of the season. Nevertheless, that would prove of little value as Mumbai sealed a deserved victory at home.

TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH

With a slender advantage going into half-time, the penalty awarded to Mumbai right at the death of the first period proved to be the turning point of the match. The second goal gave the Islanders the much-needed breathing space as well as the confidence to see out the second half and ensure that they came away with all three points.

CLUB AWARDS

Club Award – Mumbai City FC

Swift Limitless Player of the Match – Modou Sougou

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Arnold Issoko

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Nikhil Poojari

Hero of the Match – Arnold Issoko

WHAT’S NEXT?

Miguel Portugal and co. will next host Bengaluru FC on October 22, where they will hope to clinch their first victory of the campaign. Mumbai, on the other hand, travel to FC Goa for their next match on October 24.

Visit our videos section to view the match highlights and the photos section for exclusive images from the match.

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Mumbai City FC Match Report2018-2019