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Mumbai City FC (MCFC) edged past Mohammedan SC (MSC) by 1-0 at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 tonight to record their fourth victory of the season. Mohammedan SC remained winless in their six home matches of the current campaign, drawing once and being defeated five times. Contrastingly, Mumbai City FC have won seven matches and drawn twice in their last 10 ISL matches in Kolkata now.
Mumbai City FC were holding the ball and tried multiple alternatives to deconstruct the Mohammedan SC defence in the opening 15 minutes of the match. However, the visitors encountered their first glaring opportunity due to an error by the home team goalkeeper Bhaskar Roy. As the Islanders pressed high, Roy misplaced a pass as he was unable to clear his lines in the 16th minute. The custodian directed the ball straight to Lallianzuala Chhangte, who had no Mohammedan SC player challenging him. However, Chhangte couldn't shoot on target, with the ball landing beside the right post of the goal. The game took a decisive turn in the 35th minute though. As Mohammedan SC tried to make their way out of the midfield, Mohammed Irshad ended up committing a challenge on Brandon Fernandes. Irshad was shown his second yellow card of the game and thus sent off, handing the Islanders a numerical advantage with over 60 minutes of play yet to be played. Yet, the visitors could not make any threatening attacking moves as Mohammedan SC managed to see off the first essay of the game on level terms. However, Mumbai City FC started the second half on a re-energised note. They explored newer opportunities to break the home team's backline. Joe Zoherliana made a quick attempt to clear an incoming delivery into the Mohammedan SC box, but the ball ended in Roy's gloves who punched it straight to Vikram Partap Singh positioned at the edge on the left side of the 18-yard area. Vikram immediately released a formidable shot that resulted with the ball hitting the bottom left corner of the net and getting the Islanders an important advantage in the 49th minute. The Islanders sustained this brief period of pressure on the Mohammedan SC defence. Merely two minutes later, Vikram again hit the target from close range following a set-piece situation but was denied by Roy. Fernandes swung into action soon, swerving in a cross for Tiri that the defender headed off target on the left side. The home side struggled to create offensive moves and thus resorted to absorbed Mumbai City FC's waves of attacking sequences. Vikram was leading the charge for the Islanders as he joined hands with Jayesh Rane in the 68th minute to pierce past the Mohammedan SC defence and shot on target, requiring the Mohammedan SC goalkeeper to make a save on the bottom left corner. Andrey Chernyshov shook things up a bit by introducing the fresh legs of Lalremsanga Fanai in place of Bikash Singh in the 82nd minute. However, that didn't halt Mumbai City FC's attacks, as they held their shape and yet defended their lead safely to grab the victory. Vikram completed 23 out of his 26 attempted passes, in addition to making one interception, two crosses, three tackles, and netting the only goal of the match. Mumbai City FC will next play Chennaiyin FC on December 21, whereas Mohammedan SC are slated to face Kerala Blasters FC on December 22. (ANI)
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