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After snatching a late, late victory at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on a magical Sunday night, the Islanders remain on the road and make the long, daunting trip to the Furnace. In a second consecutive away game in the span of four days, Mumbai City FC make their way to face the high-flying Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex tomorrow.
After the final whistle sounded in Bengaluru, the sheer joy on the faces of the Islanders was visible but not without a collective sigh of relief. After being on the receiving end of a stoppage time party-pooper in Kolkata, it was role reversal at the Kanteerava. Goals from Subhasish Bose and Diego Carlos gave the Islanders the lead twice in the game but Rowllin Borges guided Subhasish’s stunning header past Gurpreet into the net with 30 seconds left on the clock to hand Jorge Costa’s side their first win in 7 games.
The win against the defending champions on Sunday meant that the Islanders’ unbeaten streak on the road in the 2019/20 Hero ISL season now reads five games. Tomorrow’s highly-anticipated outing in Jamshedpur presents a perfect opportunity to build on the good work from Bengaluru and continue the march up the points table.
Boasting of the best home record in the league so far, visiting outfits have found life to be fairly miserable at the Furnace, with zero away wins at the JFC home ground so far. Antonio Iriondo’s well drilled unit stands between the Islanders and a chance to make it two in two and set a new club record in the process.
Focus: Jamshedpur FC
Now in their third season of existence, Jamshedpur FC have had two near-misses with the play-offs in their first couple of campaigns. Much like the last summer, the Tata-owned outfit brought in a change in management in the form of Spanish coach Antonio Iriondo. An overhaul in the playing squad followed too with Tiri and Memo the only retained foreign players.
The change in the dressing room has seemed to bring about a change in the fortunes on the pitch for the Red Miners. Iriondo’s side started the 2019/20 Hero ISL campaign with 7 points out of 9 but following a defeat away to ATK, Jamshedpur FC’s campaign seems to have hit a roadblock with one win and three consecutive draws.
While tomorrow’s hosts remain unbeaten at home so far, coach Iriondo has highlighted his side’s lack of consistency to be a snag in the side and is wary of the challenge the Islanders will pose who, so far, have not lost away from home.
Form Guide (Last Five Games)
Jamshedpur FC: L-W-D-D-D
Mumbai City FC: L-D-D-D-W
Team News:
With a sizeable sigh of relief, Jorge Costa was able to announce an injury-free squad available at his disposal ahead of tomorrow’s crucial away tie.
Antonio Iriondo has ruled out Spanish forward Sergio Castel out of action for tomorrow’s encounter. He has also confirmed the absence of Noe Acosta and Amarjiit Kiyam who are both recovering from a shoulder injury and a fractured arm respectively.
Who Said What:
Jorge Costa: We know what Jamshedpur FC's strengths are but, of course, I don't want to talk about them here. We know what they can do. We know it won't be an easy game, but we're prepared to do what we know we have to do.
Mato Grgic: The idea (for tomorrow) remains the same - to be compact, to fight for each other on the pitch and to stick to the coach's plan like we do in every game. If we are together, it becomes easier for everyone to play.
Rowllin Borges: We’re playing well and most importantly, we’re playing together. The results were missing in the beginning but good things take time. We’re confident of putting on a show tomorrow.
Where to watch it
The game will kick off at 7.30pm IST and will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network, Hotstar and Jio TV for all viewers in India. For our global fans, you can follow all the action LIVE on our official Twitter account - @MumbaiCityFC.
League Watch
Fixtures coming up:
18 Dec: NorthEast United FC vs Bengaluru FC (Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati 7.30pm)
19 Dec: Jamshedpur FC vs Mumbai City FC (JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur 7.30pm)
20 Dec: Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai 7.30pm)
