ISL 2017-18: Speed, thrill, controversy reigns at Maha Derby as Pune City steal a last minute win over Mumbai City

A THRILLING FINISH to the Maha Derby saw Pune City continue their winning streak by beating Mumbai City 2-1 in a game that will be controversial due to some of the referee's decisions.

Pune City started brightly with some early possession and they were slowly working to create pressure on their opponents, but 15 minutes in it was Mumbai City who opened the scoring with a beautiful finish by Balwant Singh.

Pune tried hard to immediately get their equalizer, especially Marcelinho and Alfaro combining to create multiple chances. But the home team failed to get their goal despite coming close many times.

The game's intensity held up in the second half and the game became increasingly physical. Mumbai City had missed out on doubling their lead when Tebar hit the post and a legitimate penalty call was denied to them. But as the match neared its end with seemingly no relief in sight for the Stallions, Carlos was brought down in the Mumbai box and this time the referee did point to the spot. Alfaro converted the penalty.

In the final minutes, both teams pushed hard to get a second goal and the tackles, scuffles started happening more often. The situation threatened to get out of the referee's hand a few times who had to yell at players to maintain his authority over the game. 

The game went into added time and a draw seemed inevitable but at the very last moment Jonatan Lucca sent a through ball ahead that Carlos got hold of and passed to Alfaro in the goalmouth. The ball hit the net and the home fans exploded in joy.

The win makes it 6 points from 3 games for Pune City while Mumbai City FC, with two losses are at the 6th place with 3 points from 3 games. The visitors will certainly feel hard done by the referee's decision tonight, but Pune will consider themselves lucky not to drop points at home despite missing several chances.