Jamshedpur FC beat Mumbai City FC 3-0 at the Mumbai Football Arena. Despite their continuous efforts in the attack and strong defensive showing in the first-half, Mumbai City suffered their fourth loss of the season.
Although Jamshedpur FC dominated the possession in the opening minutes of the first-half and were dictating the tempo of the game, the first attempt of the night came from Mumbai City FC in the 7th minute off a corner kick. The ball landed into the box in no man’s land as Thaer Krouma attempted to find the top right corner but unfortunately for the Syrian centre-back, the ball almost kissed the crossbar and went over the post.
Mumbai City FC gradually improved its performance in the attack and started creating good chances in the final third. Brandon Fernandes and Vikram Partap Singh did well on the left flank however, Mumbai City FC struggled with their finishing.
After a tightly contested first-half, Mumbai City FC started attacking aggressively across both flanks looking for the opening goal. In the 48th minute, captain Lallianzuala Chhangte made a darting run down the left flank and attempted a cross which struck the side netting. Moments later in the 55th minute, Brandon played a pinpoint cross onto the far post and found Bipin but his headed pass to Nikos Karelis inside the box was intercepted by the Jamshedpur FC defence. Despite the home side’s continuous efforts up front, it was the away side that found the opening goal.
Jamshedpur FC broke the deadlock in the 64th minute as Imran Khan’s cross from the right flank was met by a well-timed first-touch finish by Sanan,
Chasing the one-goal lead, Petr Kratky brought in reinforcements in the 76th minute as Noufal P.N and Hitesh Sharma were subbed in for Yoell van Nieff and Bipin as the Islanders added firepower in their attack.
In the 84th minute, Karelis took a powerful shot on goal for Mumbai City FC but it was saved by Albino Gomes with a strong hand. Jamshedpur FC launched a counterattack and caught the Mumbai City FC backline off guard as the ball landed for Jordan Murray completely unmarked. Mumbai City FC keeper Rehenesh T. P. came off of his line to charge for the ball, but the striker chipped the ball over into the empty net to extend the lead in the 86th minute.
Mumbai City FC didn’t back down and continued to make efforts on goal in the dying minutes of the contest but unfortunately for the home team, they couldn’t find the net over the course of two halves.
In the seventh minute of additional time, Jamshedpur FC launched an attack on the left wing as the cross took a deflection inside the box and fell to Javi Hernadez who netted the third goal of the night and sealed the win for his side.
Mumbai City FC will next play against Punjab FC in an away game on January 16th.
