Hard fought to win for Mumbai City FC over Mohammedan Sporting
Mumbai City FC– 3 (Rostyn Griffiths 12′ Peryra Diaz 23′ Chhangte 35′)
Mohammedan Sporting – 1 (David 40′)
Kolkata, August 05, 2022:
Mumbai City FC (MCFC) had a good workout in their 3-1 victory over local favourites Mohammedan Sporting, here at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan in the city. Playing their first match of the 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup, the Islanders were three up in the first 35 minutes of the game, but the Black and White brigade made a game of it after their confidence was boosted by a David Lalhlansanga strike. Rostyn Griffiths, Jorge Peryra Diaz, and Lalianzuala Chhangte scored for the winners. This was the first match of Group B which also has Jamshedpur FC and the Indian Navy as part of it.
The Islanders got on the board as early as the 12th minute when Australian defender Griffiths rose high on the back post off a corner by talisman Greg Stewart, to head home. The ball hit the underside of the bar before going in.
The second goal came just over 10 minutes later from another foreigner, this time their Argentine forward Jorge Peryra Diaz, who tapped in a rebound off keeper Jongte, after Spaniard Alberto Ripoll had shot at goal.
Ripoll then helped put the issue to rest about 10 more minutes later, when he found Bipin Singh’s surging run on the left flank. Bipin’s measured cross across the face of the goal found Chhangte at the end of it, who made no mistake.
The Black and White brigade then brought the spectators to life with a goal of their own when off a corner taken short, Samad Mallick’s cross saw David rise brilliantly to head in. The lemon-break gave the local fans a lot of hope.
In the 55th minute, Alexis Gomez missed a sitter and a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit, when off a Remsanga cut back inside the Mumbai box, he found himself in the clear but his right footer was way off target. That was Remsanga’s last contribution as Ganesh Besra replaced him soon after.
At the hour mark MCFC gaffer Des Buckingham brought in two changes. Dutchman Yoell Van Nieff and Vikram Pratap Singh replaced Peryra Diaz and Chhangte, as Mohammedan was beginning to get more positive in the game.
Bipin Singh then had a shot hit the bar in the 65th as MCFC pressed hard to put the game beyond the local side. Mohammedan were also getting their chances and in the 79th, substitutes Besra and Tanmoy Ghosh combined with the latter’s flying header just off the target.
That was perhaps the last real chance secured by either side as Mumbai City did well to pick up full points.
Sunday Matches
Match 05 of the 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup will see Delhi FC take on Hyderabad FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium at 2.30 pm.
Match 06 will see Emami East Bengal, the joint-highest winners of the tournament appear for the first time against Bangladesh Army Football Team at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. That match kicks-off at 4.45 pm IST.
Ticket Information in detail
India’s leading entertainment destination BookMyShow has been roped in as an exclusive ticketing partner for the 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup.
Fans can book their tickets for all knockout matches of the tournament exclusively on www.bookmyshow.com.
