When FC Goa and Mumbai City FC play, there is always drama since the fixture has resulted in 85 goals in 26 games. And tonight was no exception, as the Islanders defeated the Gaurs 2-1 at the Fatorda. With this victory, Mumbai City has now gone 13 games without defeat versus Goa in the league. Let’s review some of the game’s most significant moments, from Van Nieff’s incredible goal to Kattimani’s brilliant reflexive save.
FC Goa made four changes to their starting lineup after an amazing 3–3 tie with Northeast United. Jay Gupta returned to the center of the defense, replacing Nim Dorjee. The midfield saw a total overhaul with Carl McHugh and Rowllin Borges taking the places of Ayush Chhetri and Sahil Tavora. Dejan Drazic was also demoted to the bench, and Brison Fernandes took his place. Iker Guarrotxena and Sandesh Jhingan were named as substitutes after recovering from their injuries.
Petr Kratky picked an unchanged starting eleven from their 0–0 draw against Bengaluru FC at the Kanteerava before the international break.
Mumbai had their first chance of the match just one minute in when Karelis did a fantastic job of winning the ball in the attacking third and passing it to Brandon, whose shot missed the target. Both teams wanted to take their time and establish themselves in the game, thus the first quarter or so of the match was very balanced and conservative. About 20 minutes into the match, Mumbai had a dangerous offensive set-piece opportunity when Valpuia attempted to rush forward on the right flank but was hauled down by Brison.
The Islanders scored on the subsequent free kick, with Nikos Karelis heading the ball into the net to score his second goal of the season. Van Nieff delivered the assist with a wonderful looping cross, which Karelis converted at the near post. Van Nieff gave up a free-kick in an attacking position for the Gaurs minutes later, giving them an immediate chance to equalize. However, Borja’s bad free kick resulted in a goal-kick, posing no danger to the Mumbai defense.
Goa’s most prominent chance of the match came three minutes later when Brison delivered a cross to Udanta after Mehtab had given up the ball. Udanta sent the ball back to Brison, whose shot ricocheted off Lachenpa and landed to Sadiku, who only had to tap it into the back of the net. But Sadiku squandered a fantastic opportunity, and for a striker with four goals in three games, he couldn’t believe his luck. After expressing his displeasure with a referee’s on-field decision, Petr Kratky received the game’s first yellow card.
Shortly after, Sadiku and Borja worked well together in the attacking third to generate an opportunity, but Valpuia valiantly stopped the former’s risky through pass. Carl McHugh’s error in the 40th minute allowed Van Nieff to double Mumbai’s lead. Van Nieff did a fantastic job of stealing the ball from McHugh, carrying it forward, and beating Kattimani with a left-footed effort from outside the box. Kattimani certainly could have done better, though. Four further minutes were added at the end of the first half, which concluded 2-0 in favor of the away team.
Ten minutes or so into the second half, Borja sent Brison a wonderful cross, and Brison’s header at the far post struck the crossbar before falling to Sadiku. Sadiku was about to take a close-range shot when Valpuia knocked him down, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. With a flawless penalty kick, Sadiku scored his fifth goal of the season. Tiri almost gave the Gaurs a chance to equalize a few moments later, but he made amends with a spectacular block that stopped Borja’s volley. A yellow card was given to Carl McHugh, who had just returned from suspension, for fouling Jeremy Manzorro.
Both coaches made a few changes, with Noufal and Toral coming in for Mumbai and Tavora and Guarrotxena coming on for Gaurs. Borja had another chance when Lachenpa spilled the ball in his own area, but his shot missed the target. About seventy minutes into the match, Noufal skillfully passed the ball to Vikram, who found him in a dangerous spot inside the box. However, Jay Gupta effectively blocked Noufal’s effort. Both managers made more adjustments, with Manolo Marquez putting in players like Drazic in an attempt to find an equalizer.
With barely 10 minutes remaining, Aakash Sangwan sent a fantastic cross to Boris at the far post, who headed the ball into the six-yard box, but Mehtab Singh heroically intercepted, maintaining Mumbai’s lead. A few seconds later, Boris found Guarrotxena in the box, creating another opportunity, but the Spaniard’s shot was blocked for a corner. Kattimani made a fantastic reaction stop to deny Mehtab’s free header at the far post from a corner, which would have given the Islanders a two-goal lead again.
Even though the Gaurs were making a lot of effort to tie the score, the Islanders’ defense was resilient enough to block their efforts and maintain the lead. At the end of the second half, eight extra minutes were added. Jay Gupta was given a yellow card during stoppage time for bringing down Jon Toral, who was launching a quick counterattack. As the referee blew the full-time whistle, the Islanders did just enough to maintain their lead and earn all three points.
Given that they have not won in their last three games, Petr Kratky would be delighted to secure their first victory of the season. While the Islanders’ defense has struggled this season, he would be pleased with his defenders for doing everything they could to preserve the lead in the second half. Manolo Marquez, on the other hand, would be upset with his defenders. He said they could not defend any worse after the last game, and they had once again conceded two goals. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in their previous ten outings in the league. With only one victory in five games, Manolo would be hopeful that the next games would be better.
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