Mumbai City FC secured a thrilling 3-2 win over FC Goa in the first leg of the Hero ISL Semi-Final. The Islanders scored three goals after the 89th minute to bag a one-goal advantage going into the second leg. Despite trailing 2-0 for almost the majority of the game, the former Shield winners were looking dangerous throughout the night.
They had a lot of possession but failed to make the most of it until the 90th minute when Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the first of three goals for Mumbai City. Just a minute after that they were able to launch another attack and this time it was Gurkirat Singh who led the way for the Islanders. The 20-year-old fired a shot at the Goa goal, which was kept out by their keeper. However, Mumbai’s star man Vikram Pratap Singh smelled the danger and pounced on the loose ball from the keeper to level the scores.
The Fatorda Stadium was shocked by the turn of events that had gone down in Goa. They were buzzing during the game and making life difficult for the small bunch of Mumbai City fans that had made their way into the party capital. However, the footballing gods had something in store for the West Coast Brigade.
After having a comfortable lead for almost ninety minutes, it looked like the Gaurs had one step into the Final, but in the 96th minute, Chhangte added more salt to their wounds. Jayesh Rane, who assisted the first goal, chest-controlled a ball just a few yards out of the Goa penalty area. He tried to dribble past the defence and find a corner, but his effort found star boy Chhangte who fired the ball into the net for the third goal.
Mumbai City will now be confident going into the second leg
Despite missing out on their highest goal scorer Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Mumbai City showed great resilience to beat the Gaurs in stoppage time. Akash Mishra was subbed out early in the game as he went down due to an injury. The Islanders will be hoping to have the two stars back for the second leg as Goa is not an opponent that can be taken lightly.
Having finished third in the league stage, the Gaurs have a splendid record on the road. They have lost just once this season away from home and conceded only 14 goals, which is the second-fewest among all teams in the league. However, travelling to Mumbai for a second leg is not going to be easy. The small group of fans that made the trip to Fatorda held their own against a sea of orange around them. The Mumbai Football Arena has been a fortress and the atmosphere could be overwhelming for the Gaurs who crumbled at their own stadium.
Winning the first leg 3-2 in the way that they did, will give Mumbai City a lot of confidence going into the second leg at home. They are undefeated in eleven games against Goa and will be looking to extend it to twelve after the encounter on Monday.
