In what turned out to be a competitive encounter, Mumbai City FC edged past SC East Bengal, 1-0, in the Indian Super League 2020-21, at the Tilak Maidan in Goa, on Friday. With this win, Mumbai maintained its top spot, while SCEB stayed at the tenth.
It was the sole strike from Mourtada Fall, whose header handed Mumbai the win. Furthermore, some saved from both the goalkeepers kept both the sides at their toes.
Following the game, SCEB manager, Robbie Fowler praised his boys, despite the toss, as he said, "We were brilliant in the second half. This was a much-improved performance and I was happy for my players. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any points. It took a little long for players to adapt to the game. Some of them weren't up to the mark. So, I made tweaks in the final 45 minutes. The table is tight at the moment and we need a string of wins now to make it past the group stage. Jeje (Lalpekhlua) isn't fully fit. Harmanpreet Singh, who is better suited for the role up front, is preferred as the Indian attacker."
Nonetheless, SCEB striker, Anthony Pilkington slammed his side for being sloppy initially, that led to awarding Mumbai the sole goal. "We were sloppy in the first half. We weren't happy in the opening 45 minutes. We made changes in the second and dominated the half. If we had taken those chances, we could have come out on top. If we don't put in goals, we can't expect to get wins. We did everything we could to find the equaliser. We could possibly take some heart from that. But, we hope to come back stronger," he reckoned.
Meanwhile, Mumbai head coach, Sergio Lobera, too, was in a similar mood, saying, "If I see the result, I'm extremely happy. But, on the whole, we were dominated, and that's a concern. We had quite a few chances to score a second goal. However, we didn't capitalise on that. If we continue this way, it might be difficult to win future games. East Bengal played really well in the second half. We lost the ball often and made it easy for them. I want to play attacking football, create more chances and score goals. But, we couldn't do that throughout the game. We need to improve. Hugo Boumous was taken off as a precaution. He was feeling good on the field tonight and produced a good assist."
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