Jamshedpur FC dented Mumbai City FC’s chances of topping the 2020-21 Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) standings after beating the Islanders 2-0 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Saturday. Young Boris Singh came off the bench and scored their first goal in the 72nd minute before David Grande doubled the lead in stoppage time.

• Jamshedpur were the better side in the first half but couldn’t break the deadlock.
• Both Boris Singh and David Grande came off the bench to score in the second half.

Jamshedpur started the match on the attack and put Mumbai City under some pressure through a few early set-pieces and crosses into the box. The Islanders settled and started enjoying more possession as the half wore on, but it was Jamshedpur that had the better chances.

Seiminlen Doungel had a good opportunity in the 18th minute when the ball fell for him nicely in the box. His shot though was wide of the mark to the relief of Mumbai City. Farukh Choudhary then had a go at goal in the 22nd minute when he volleyed a cross from the right off target.

The chances continued to come for Jamshedpur and it was Nerijus Valskis the next recipient. Isaac Vanmalsawma created two chances for the Lithuanian thanks to dangerous crosses into the box from the left. After failing to get on the end of Isaac’s cross first time around, Valskis managed to connect with another cross from the Indian winger in the 38th minute. However, his header failed to test Mumbai City’s goalkeeper in keeping with the theme of the half as both sides went into the break with the game goalless.

Mumbai City came out in the second half with more intent and purpose but continued to struggle to create chances. Jamshedpur, meanwhile, kept on getting into dangerous areas as Farukh dragged another shot of his wide of the target shortly after the hour mark.

Owen Coyle’s men were eventually rewarded for their perseverance in the 72nd minute and the goal came from an Aitor Monroy corner that Farukh got a touch on at the near post to force Amrinder Singh into a save. Amrinder though could only parry the ball to substitute Boris in the six-yard box and the Indian youngster made no mistake in slotting the ball into the net to make it 1-0 for Jamshedpur.

The Islanders tried to get back into the contest and Mourtada Fall could have equalised for them in the 83rd minute had his header from a Cy Goddard corner been on target. Farukh could have put the game to bed six minutes later when a long ball forward from the goalkeeper set him up for a good chance, however, his shot lacked the power to beat Amrinder.

Jamshedpur did kill off the game with their next chance though after Monroy unlocked Mumbai City’s defence in injury time and put Grande through on goal. The Spaniard went on to execute a neat finish as Jamshedpur doubled their lead.

Substitute Bartholomew Ogbeche managed to make a bit of an impact for Mumbai City late in the match and forced TP Rehenesh into an excellent save deep in stoppage time. However, Jamshedpur held on to their clean sheet and secured the three points as Mumbai City saw their chances of topping the league get more difficult.

Hero of the Match – Farukh Choudhary

Playing against his former team, Farukh Choudhary reminded Mumbai City what he was made of with an excellent performance for Jamshedpur FC. The Indian attacker was unplayable at times, attempted four shots on goal and got a vital touch on the ball in the build-up to Jamshedpur’s opener.

Other Match Awards:

Club Award – Jamshedpur FC

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Aitor Monroy (Jamshedpur FC)

Watch the Match Highlights here: