Dressed in the light blue, the Mumbai City FC side have had a season to remember in 2023-24, and just have that one final hurdle to cross – the ISL Cup Final, where they play Mohun Bagan, winners of the ISL Shield 2023-24. The Islanders have had many stories to tell over the course of the season, including a special comeback in the semi-final against FC Goa. Nonetheless, with all of that behind us, the focus is squarely on Saturday evening, at the VYBK in Kolkata.
“Playing for Mumbai City FC is a different motivation for me, and it has always been fun to play in Salt Lake, and this time also I am excited to play the final over here,” said Captain Rahul Bheke, who is not new to the city of Kolkata.
The mighty Mumbai had the best goal difference during the league stage, and were the highest scoring team across the semi-finals as well, and ahead of the final, the overall plans aren’t going to change too much.
“The players want to play in front of the packed stadium, and I think it is extra motivation for us, to play for the fans. And we will play our way and focus on what we need to do and everyone should enjoy themselves during the game,” said Head Coach Petr Kratky.
Earlier in the tournament, Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC have had some well contested games, but that was during the league stage, while there has to be a winner at the end of the game on Saturday. Does that change the approach for the Islanders?
“We need to approach the game a little bit differently because it is the final. I think we will learn from the previous game, and we will come here to play our football from the first minute. We are here to compete and will try to win the game, and if it goes beyond 90 minutes, the boys are fit and ready to battle it out till the end,” the coach asserted.
The Islanders, who won the Cup in 2020-21, will be keen to maintain their consistency across the board. They will miss the services of Akash Mishra, who is injured, and Yoell van Nieff.
“We have sometimes missed important players this season on a few occasions before, but we have a lot of good players in the squad, who are hungry and can step up whenever required. So, I am excited about that and we showed the ability to fight against FC Goa in Goa, especially with just one overseas player on the pitch. I am excited for the game, and we keep doing things as we always have done, someone must step in and perform,” Kratky signed off.
