Half Time Report: Dominating Mumbai take 1 goal lead; Goa requires major overhaul
Starting Line-Ups:
Mumbai City FC - Subrata Paul, Ashutosh Mehta, Pavel Cmovs, Darren O'Dea, Lalchhuan Mawia, Juan Aguilera, Cristian Bustos, Gabriel Fernandes, Sunil Chhetri, Sony Norde, Frederic Piquionne
FC Goa - Laxmikant Kattimani, Raju Gaikwad, Luciano Sobrosa, Gregory Arnolin, Bikramjit Singh, Narayan Das, Pronay Halder, Jonatan Lucca, Leo Moura, Victorino Fernandes, Darryl Duffy
A PENALTY GOAL provided a deserving lead for Mumbai City who dominated FC Goa throughout most of the first half at D Y Patil Stadium tonight.
Nicolas Anelka looked to strengthen an already in-form attacking line up by introducing Frederic Piquionne up front instead of Subash Singh. To keep the 6-5 foreigner/Indian balance he started Ashutosh Mehta at right back instead of Aitor. Zico, in a surprising decision, chose to start with six Indians in the squad, fielding Raju Gaikwad and Victorino Fernandes instead of Nicolau Colaco and Reinaldo.
The match started with a definite period of domination from the home side. Goa did get a couple of chances, like the corner kick from Leo Moura that Raju Gaikwad set up for an unmarked Victorino Fernandes who failed to get his header on target. But it was Mumbai City who were the more agile team on the field, showing more attacking initiative and influencing proceedings.
Sunil Chhetri had settle well into his newfound role as a creative attacker and he was being tailed by Bikramjit Singh with some effect. Sunil managed to get an early ball to Piquionne but Kattmani easily got to it.
Then a good pass from Chhetri into the box found Gabriel Fernandes and Narayan Das brought him down. The penalty was definitely on, but the referee did not point to the spot; an early blunder to begin the match with.
The home side kept pushing hard and the pressure was building on the FC Goa defence. Around the 20th minute Bikramjit Singh picked up a yellow for pulling Piquionne by the arm. The resulting free kick, taken by Sony Norde, almost went in but for a desperate save by Kattimani.
On the other side Darry Duffy was trying his best to create some counter-pressure. Ashutosh Mehta brought him down and got booked.
Norde was doing some usual good work again as he sent a cross to Piquionne that Arnolin managed to clear. Piquionne, too eager to justify his inclusion in the starting line-up, ended up committing an unncesessary foul shortly afterwards.
And then it was another case of a foul inside the box. Frederic Piquionne went down and referee pointed to the spot, adding a yellow card to Raju Gaikwad for good measure. Sunil Chhetri took the penalty, delivering it at a low angle. Kattimani guessed its direction, made the dive and almost got his hands on the ball, but just fell short. It was 1-0 to Mumbai City, and to be frank, they deserved to be ahead.
But Kattimani proved that he wasn't bogged down by the penalty miss. Minutes later when Sunil Chhetri got hold of an Ashutosh Mehta throw in, beat a defender and took a great shot at the goal the FC Goa keeper made a well-timed dive to pull off a difficult save.
On the other end, Subrata Paul's mistake almost saw FC Goa equalise right before half-time. Mehta had sent in a back pass to Subrata who did not clear it right and the ball went to Darryl Duffy, who set Bikramjit Singh up, but the shot wasn't on target. It was a relief for Mumbai City as they ended the half with their 1-0 lead intact.
Apart from the individual mistakes, the home time seems to be on top of things at the moment. They lead by a goal, their flanks are mobile and Piquionne's presence has created an extra pressure on the Goa defence.
For Goa, the defenders have coped somewhat okay with the increased pressure, but the attack has not produced much and the midfield is shaky. The exclusion of Reinaldo is turning out to be a regret for Zico as he could use some extra pace up front right now. But knowing him, he probably has a couple of cards up his sleeve. The second half is going to be interesting.
