MATCH REPORT: Attacking Mumbai dominate the Gaurs to record comfortable second win

A FIRST HALF penalty goal by Sunil Chhetri followed by an early second half stunner from Frederic Piquionne saw Mumbai City dominate the match and clinch a crucial 2-0 victory over table toppers FC Goa.

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 has settled 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 team controlled the game. FC Goa were missing the pace up front that Reinaldo afforded them. They needed to come into the second half that with a new strategy and maybe a few changes that would allow them to become a more attacking side and take back the reigns of the match from the get go.

But that wasn't to be. The teams came back on with very much the same team and Mumbai City started where they left off and immediately doubled their lead. 

It was Sony Norde with a free-kick who found Aguilera, who sent a cross to Piquionne who was poorly marked by Pronay Halder. The finish was thorough and the goal saw Mumbai City take a 2-0 lead over FC Goa.

The Gaurs could see the match slipping from them as they stepped up the intensity of the contest. Bikramjit Singh, who had fallen short of his duty of properly guarding Sunil Chhetri all night, made way for Mandar Rao Desai; a downright attacking substitution. Then it was Pronay Halder heating things with a foul on Piquionne. Frederic got into a heated argument with the defender but the referee intervened. Soon Zico subbed Pronay out too, bringing to an end his sub-par performance where his failure to mark Piquionne led to Mumbai's second goal.

Piquionne himself was replaced by Frantz Bertin. The goal scorer left the field to universal applause as Mumbai City prepared to defend their sizeable lead for the next half an hour.

Goa brought the game to Mumbai. Mandar Rao Desai ran up the left flank and sent in a good cross to Victorino. The shot wasn't too bad, but Subrata made the save. Then it was Moura with a shot at the goal that Subrata managed to slap away. The ball made its way to Jonatan but his hopeful cross found no taker.

Mumbai immediately looked to strike back with a beautiful Sony-Sunil combo. Sony sent the pass, Sunil received and was rushed by Gregory and Kattimani. The keeper got the ball, but fumbled and Sunil got it. He took the shot but Kattimani stood tall and saved it. 

Zico made his next move, subbing Victorino Fernanes with Romeo Fernandes. Anelka also made his moves, sending in Selim Benachour for Aguilera, then bringing himself on for Sony Norde. 

The substitutes immediately got into action as Selim Benachour sent in a great pass to Anelka. The Mumbai City player-manager took the shot but Raju Gaikwad threw himself in the ball's way and blocked it at the expense of his own injury.

Then soon after, Raju and Anelka clashed again, as the FC Goa defender, already on a yellow card, clearly brought down Anelka inside the penalty box. The French striker looked to the referee hoping for a spot kick, but was disappointed as once again a legitimate penalty was denied to Mumbai City tonight.

The score stayed the same at the end. Mumbai City won the match 2-0. But they still will be disappointed as at least two penalties were denied to them tonight. Bad refereeing continues to be a problem in ISL and there doesn't seem to be too much being done to address it. In this case it does not affect the result too much as Mumbai City have already claimed a handsome victory but in other matches such mis-decisions have had major impacts on the outcome of the match.

But what's going right for Mumbai City is that finally they have found the sweet balance that their team -- always promised but didn't manage to arrive at until now. With two back to back wins, Mumbai City have revived their campaign, and a push for a top four berth seems to be on. 

For FC Goa this is a setback they need to shake off soon. They are still at the top of the table and they need their forward line to be much sharper if they are to stay at the summit. They take on Pune City on the 30th at home; a 4-day gap in between that Zico will appreciate. Defeats on the road is a reality in an intense tournament like the ISL. It's time for them to rest up and start afresh in what is building up to be a crucial top-of-the-table clash at Fatorda.