Mumbai City FC notched a 2-0 win over Odisha FC in a tightly contested affair in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday.
Mumbai City FC notched a 2-0 win over Odisha FC in a tightly contested affair in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 at the city's Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday. A Shubam Sarangi own goal and a 94th-minute Bipin Singh strike were enough to secure all three points for the Islanders.
With this goal, Bipin Singh created history as he became the joint top goalscorer for MCFC alongside Modou Sougou, netting his 15th goal for the club. Mumbai City's head coach Des Buckingham lauded this feat after the win and also praised the home crowd for their support throughout the game.
Double delight for as he becomes the joint 🔝 goalscorer for in the alongside Modou Sougou after securing the three points and netting his 15th goal for the club! 💥 pic.twitter.com/8S6A1Wu9Rs
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague)"Firstly, congratulations to Bipin, he made history and became the joint-leading goalscorer of our club. That’s a wonderful achievement for him and I’m sure he’ll go on to get many more and I’m looking forward to him getting more (goals)," Buckingham said when asked about his expectations from his wingers.
"But for the three of them, we have Vikram (Partap Singh), Chhangte, and Bipin, they all have a different skillset and that’s so important to all of us as we progress through the season. The way we play, we do have good midfielders but if we can create space for them, to start with, that’s the important role of our wingers. But if they (opposition) then stop the wingers and if they (three) can get out of their positions correctly, we can play through them through our midfield. If they stop that, then we’ve got the pace and skillset of each of them," MCFC head coach added.
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"The beauty of having three (wingers) and with different skillsets, it will help us to play against different teams, each of them is going to be extremely important. If a team wants to come and press us, we know we have the pace to get in behind, if a team wants to drop deeper, we know we have tricky players. So, it just gives us different options should we need to use them either at the start or in between the game," Buckingham remarked.
🎙️ Hear from our all-time leading goalscorer fresh off setting yet another record! ⚡️ 🔵 pic.twitter.com/uDukg9tHzK
— Mumbai City FC (@MumbaiCityFC)"I’ve really enjoyed the last two and a half hours of my life. To play at home for the first time in over two years and the way the team was welcomed by the fans was (just incredible). They didn’t stop singing throughout the game hence the game played out the way it did and certainly we finished (in the same manner). I hope we’ve sent them home happy, with three points and also with the way we’ve played. Hopefully, the support continues for next week and we want to see as many of them back in here when we play Jamshedpur FC," Mumbai City head coach added.
Islanders seal season's first win in cagey affair with Odisha FC
In a lacklustre first half, neither side posed a threat in the opposition's penalty area. Both defences were alert to mop up the loose balls but it was the inability of players to find the decisive pass as well as the failure to apply the final touch that kept this game goalless at the midway point.
On the left flank, Bipin Singh had the Odisha FC defence worried in the opening stages of the game. In the sixth minute, Bipin’s low cross flashed across the face of goal as none of the Mumbai City attackers could tap it in. Sahil Panwar swung in a threatening ball towards the far post from a corner in the 14th minute before it was palmed away by Phurba Lachenpa.
The first shot on target came seven minutes from half-time when Nandhakumar Sekar cut in from the left flank and fired a tame effort towards the goal. It was comfortably collected by the keeper. In the 44th minute, Diego Mauricio burst into life as he sprinted past two Mumbai City players before getting a shot away. The Brazilian’s effort was off target.
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Five minutes into the second half, the deadlock was broken as the Islanders took the lead courtesy of an own goal. Lallianzuala Chhangte was found on the right flank by Ahmed Jahouh. Chhangte unleashed a shot on target after a quick exchange with Greg Stewart. Amrinder Singh saved the effort with his foot but the ball hit defender Shubham Sarangi and rolled into the goal.
Nearing the hour-mark, Mauricio found space in the Islander’s box to get a shot away. The fierce strike was saved by Lachenpa. In the 72nd minute, Mauricio went down in the box, under pressure from Stewart. Appeals for a penalty were in vain as the referee only awarded a goal kick.
In the 82nd minute, Amrinder denied Stewart with an outstanding save. The Scottish striker received the ball from the left flank and struck a low shot at goal. Amrinder’s quick reflexes were enough to keep the ball out.
In the last action of the game, Mumbai City FC probed forward towards a scattered Odisha defence. Stewart unselfishly passed the ball to Bipin who smashed the ball past Amrinder to score his 15th league goal for the club with the last kick of the game.
The Islanders, next play hosts to the ISL 2021-22 Shield winners Jamshedpur FC on 22nd October, Saturday. The Juggernauts return to the east coast to host Kerala Blasters on 23rd October, Sunday.