It was the clash of the terrains as the Islanders hosted the Highlanders on the 19th matchday of the ISL. Mumbai City FC ran riot as they crushed NorthEast United FC 4-1 in a fairly one-sided encounter at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday, 12th March. Mumbai’s Vikram Partap Singh had the game of his life as he netted a brilliant hattrick, becoming only the fourth Indian player to score three goals in an ISL fixture. The Islanders practically sealed the game in the first half itself as Vikram Partap’s brace and Van Nieff’s penalty gave them a 3-0 lead. Jithin pulled one back for the Highlanders in the second half only for Vikram to complete his hat trick and take Mumbai to the top of the league.
Heading into the clash, Peter Kratky’s men were desperate for three points in a practically must-win encounter to stay alive in the title race after Mohun Bagan’s derby triumph on Sunday. However, Kratky selected just three out of the five foreigners available, leaving Thaer Krouma and the talismanic Pereyra Diaz on the bench. Instead, he started an All-Indian front three with Bipin, Chhangte, and Vikram Partap Singh.
The visiting Highlanders came into this fixture on the back of a disappointing 0-1 loss to their playoff rivals Punjab FC. With the race for the final playoff spot heating up, Benali’s men could have grabbed the sixth position for the time being with just a point. Gurmeet Singh started for the second consecutive game after getting his move from Hyderabad FC.
Mumbai City started the proceedings in some style as Yoell Van Nieff found Vikram Partap with a stunning long pass, who slotted it past Gurmeet to give his side the lead in the 3rd minute of the game. Mumbai’s attacking intensity took the Highlanders off-guard as just 7 minutes later, Vikram doubled his team’s and his goal tally after scoring a simple header as the rebounded ball off Chhangte’s shot found him completely unmarked. Benali was visibly livid with his team’s defence after the silly error in marking Vikram. This goal made Vikram the highest-scoring Indian player in the ISL this season with 6 goals, proof of the winger’s outstanding form.
NorthEast however gradually came back into the game as they started maintaining some possession and were direct in their approach, creating a few chances to get back into the game, especially from set-pieces. NorthEast’s tricky winger Jithin looked specifically very sharp as he started causing the Mumbai defence a lot of problems with his dangerous runs and dribbling with Mumbai’s Abhishek Mishra falling prey to his brilliant footwork on multiple occasions.
Mumbai’s goalkeeper Purba Lachenpa had to be subbed off after getting a foot injury, forcing Nawaz to keep between the sticks.
However, just before the half ended, NorthEast conceded a penalty and Yoell Van Nieff made no mistakes as he got his first goal of the ISL season and practically put the game to bed with a full half to be played.
Even though NorthEast had some good moments in the first half, the second half was a complete battering as Mumbai completely dominated the proceedings. The Mumbai players looked much fitter and faster than their counterparts, pressing high up the pitch, creating a plethora of chances as Gurmeet was the Highlander’s busiest player. Benali’s men failed to win most of the 50-50 duels and lost the ball in their own half multiple times due to the immense pressure being put on them by Mumbai’s pressing.
In the 79th minute, against the run of play, NorthEast pulled one goal back after Gani Nigam played a genius long ball into the box as Jithin controlled the ball brilliantly and scored past Nawaz to get himself a well-deserved goal after his relentless individual performance. However, there was only one star of the day as just a few seconds later from the kickoff, Mumbai launched a great attack and Chhangte’s cutback met Vikram Partap Singh, who calmly put the ball past Gurmeet to complete his brilliant hattrick and sealed the game for the Kratky’s men. The game did not end in great spirits as Parthib Gogoi was sent off after getting into an unnecessary tussle with Mumbai’s Apuia out of frustration.
With this win, Mumbai City FC now sits on top of the ISL table with 39 points, 3 points above Mohun Bagan SG with the latter having two games in hand. As the title race heats up with the top 5 teams, the toughest spot to predict at the end of the season would be the last playoff spot and after failing to grab any points, NorthEast United sits in the 9th spot on the table, still having a very genuine chance to make it through.
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