Bambolim (Goa), (Samajweekly) Mumbai City rode out to a dominant 6-1 win over Odisha FC in the Indian Super League on Wednesday at the GMC Stadium. The big margin of victory helped second-placed Mumbai match top-ranked ATK Mohun Bagan’s goal difference while being three points behind them.
It means that a win against Bagan in their next match, which is also both side’s final game of the league season, would mean the league winners’ shield would go to Mumbai City.
After Odisha had taken a shock early lead on Wednesday through Diego Mauricio (9th minute), Mumbai hit back hard through goals from Bartholomew Ogbeche (14th mins, 43rd mins), Bipin Singh (38th mins, 47th mins, 86th mins) and Cy Goddard (44th mins). The match was the highest-scoring game of the season and Mumbai had the biggest-winning margin yet. The timely return to form ended a three-game winless run for Sergio Lobera’s side.
Yet, when the match started, it appeared as if Mumbai would continue their wretched form. Early on, Odisha were awarded a penalty when Ahmed Jahouh fouled Mauricio in the box. The latter stepped up and ensured that Odisha had an unlikely lead, despite Amrinder getting a hand to the ball.
But Mumbai weren’t behind for long. Just five minutes later, Jahouh made amends for his mistake by finding Ogbeche off a freekick. The Nigerian made no mistake, heading it in and restoring parity.
Odisha put up quite a fight over the next twenty minutes as Mumbai struggled to convert their dominance into clear-cut chances. But once the goal came, the floodgates opened. Mumbai’s second had an element of luck to it. After Ogbeche’s shot was blocked, the ball fell kindly for Bipin, who made no mistake from his shot. Then, just five minutes later, Mumbai struck again, putting the result of the match beyond doubt. Jahouh and Ogbeche once again combined with the latter finding the striker off yet another freekick. Once again, the big Nigerian made no mistake, heading it in.
If Odisha interim coach Steven Dias had a tough half-time talk on his hands, it was about to get a lot worse. With just seconds to go before the half-time whistle, Goddard found the net with a peach of a goal. After receiving the ball on the right, the youngster cut inside and fired in a shot that gave Odisha goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh no chance.
Just in case, Odisha had any hopes of a comeback, Mumbai were quick to snuff them out. Just two minutes after the restart, Bipin found the net again, Ogbeche turning provider this time. The goal prompted Lobera to give his main stars a break, with the likes of Adam Le Fondre and Mourtada Fall being subbed off. Ogbeche too joined them on the bench later. That took the edge off the game, but there was still time for Bipin to find his hattrick – the first of the season – with just minutes left for the final whistle.
