Mumbai FC thrashed PIFA Colaba 4-0 to retain the MDFA RCF Nadkarni Cup title at the RCF Ground, Chembur, on Wednesday.
Gbeneme Friday and Cavin Lobo scored for Mumbai FC in the first half. Later, PC Lalwmpuia, substitute in the second half, put the game beyond PIFA with a brace.
The opening minutes of the final were a cagey affair with neither side taking too many chances. The I-League team chose to feed long balls to their forward Abhishek Yadav to find an opening that came in the 18th minute. Yadav made a weak attempt but Friday managed to convert the chance.
One goal down, PIFA displayed positive intent. But despite their energy levels, PIFA failed to restore parity. Keeper Kishan Sulegai couldn’t deal with Lobo’s shot from a narrow angle in the 33rd minute.
Things got worse for PIFA in the second half. Mazar Shaikh got sent off in the 65th minute for a sliding tackle. Coming into the second half, Lalwmpuia struck twice to double the margin for Mumbai.
Mumbai FC coach Khalid Jamil said, “It wasn’t as easy a game as the scoreline indicates. They are a good side and were missing a couple of players.”
Jamil’s unit starts their I-League campaign on October 23 against Air India in Pune. He admitted that his side was hoping to have a better finish last season. “Our main aim is to improve on our last year’s position. We have a few new players and have been training to make sure that they gel together.
“In the Nadkarni Cup, we have rotated our players in all the games to make sure that most of them get game time because that is crucial to prepare for the league campaign.”
Stopwatch: Final: Mumbai FC 4 (Gbeneme Friday, Cavin Lobo, PC Lalwmpuia 2) beat PIFA Colaba 0
