Diego Forlan was the name which did the rounds at the Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri before the game and he lived up to his marquee tag by scoring the deciding goal which helped Mumbai City FC edge NorthEast United on Friday. The John Abraham-owned team should have been up by atleast two goals in the first half had attackers Katsumi Yusa and Emiliano Alfaro not wasted their chances.
Although Forlan had the first shot on goal, NorthEast, playing with a 4-1-4-1 formation were the more aggressive of the two sides, building up attacks in waves with Ivory Coast midfielder, Koffi Ndri proving to be a thorn in the flesh of home team’s defence.
In the 10th minute, Ndri’s left-footed free kick went just over the bar but he ruffled up Mumbai custodian Roberto Volpato four minutes later with a powerful volley from the edge of the box. Volpato had to dive to his left to stop the ball from going in.
Mumbai were able to pose serious concerns for the white brigade on the 20th minute mark when defender Aiborlang Khongjee’s grounder was parried away for a corner by former Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul.
Then it was all about NorthEast. First Alfaro was denied a shot on goal by Sehnaj Singh and then Katsumi inexplicably shot over after being in a one-on-one position with Volpato. Nico Velez then fed Alfaro with a stinging pass in the 44th minute but the latter’s shot was deflected for a corner.
The rejuvenated hosts came out all guns blazing after the break. They were helped by Reegan Singh’s meaningless tackle on Pronoy Halder in the penalty area and Forlan did the rest from the spot. Paul had guessed it right but Forlan put enough on it to beat the keeper, even though it brushed his hand.
Mumbai defended the game out as the efforts of Alfaro, Katsumi and Velez were either handled by Volpato or missed the target by inches. Mumbai, who had two forgettable seasons, will be boosted by this win, as well as the vocal home support at their new home ground.
