It was a dramatic evening at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan as Mumbai City FC fought tooth and nail, but could not stop Mohun Bagan from reaching the finish line first. Mohun Bagan defeated Mumbai City FC 2-1, to win the ISL League Winners Shield. For the Islanders, it was Lallianzuala Chhangte who got on the score-sheet, while Liston Colaco and Jason Cummings scored for the Mariners. The Islanders finish the ISL League stage second on the points table.
It was a high-octane start in Kolkata, with Rahul Bheke thwarting the hosts early on, and then Bipin Singh asking a couple of big questions off the Bagan defence. Chhangte too had a shot blocked within the first ten minutes.
Chhangte was giving the defenders a bit of a headache, but at the other end, Liston Colaco hit the woodwork for Bagan. The visitors made Vishal Kaith work right after, but it was Liston who broke the deadlock with curler on the 28th minute, just before the drinks break. The Islanders were understandably giving it their all but Bagan kept them at bay. Yoell van Nieff got into the act too with a fiery hit that forced Kaith into a big save.
Chhangte missed a chance on 45 minutes as the Islanders continued to be in the hunt for an equaliser. At the break, Bagan led 1-0, and Mumbai had to score in the second half to keep their hopes for the Shield alive.
The visitors were out of the blocks at rapid pace in the second half – Bipin and Mehtab showing plenty of intent within the very first minute. The Islanders were putting plenty of pressure on the Bagan defence, with the likes of Chhangte and Noguera making a couple of promising in-roads.
Just after the hour mark, Mumbai City FC started to go through the gears, but it was getting nervy, and the crowd had also raised the noise decibels a bit. The visitors were feeling the pressure, but weren’t giving in. The Islanders were attacking in waves, but Bagan were holding on, and responding with similar intent too.
Lachenpa was called in to make a couple of saves after the drinks break but right on the 80th minute, Bagan struck a telling blow as Jason Cummings found the back of the net, making it 2-0. Mumbai City FC, at this point, had quite the task on hand.
And on the 89th minute, Chhangte halved the deficit with a low-hard finish past Kaith, after Apuia’s header from a corner fell favourably to him. At 2-1, the game was set for a grand finish, especially with 8 minutes of stoppage time to play.
Emotions ran high in the final minutes of play, but Bagan eventually held on, won the game 2-1 and walked with the ISL Winners Shield.
