ISL: Despite first win of the season, Mumbai City FC are nowhere near a finished product

Mumbai City FC got their first two goals and three points of this Indian Super League season in the bag after beating FC Goa 2-1 at home on Saturday. However, even the most ardent supporter of the the Islanders will know that their win at the Mumbai Football Arena was down to two blunders – one by the opposition goalkeeper and the other by one of the linesmen.

FC Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani had a match to forget as his lapse in concentration cost his team the opening goal of the match. After receiving a back-pass, he appeared to not have seen the lurking threat of Mumbai forward Everton Santos and the 28-year-old took too long to clear.

Santos slid in at Kattimani’s feet and got the ball, which lobbed up and rather luckily dropped right into the net. It was as lucky a goal as you will ever see, but Santos’s awareness and Kattimani’s lack of cannot be discounted.

Goa were then denied an equaliser they should have got by the linesman, which meant that Manuel Arana’s superb volley into the net in the 83rd minute should have put the visitors in the lead. Instead, it was Mumbai who got the lead again, which turned out to be the winner, as substitute Thiago dos Santos skipped past the defence to slot in his first of the season.

Mumbai coach Alexandre Guimaraes said he was proud of his players for not losing faith even after conceding their lead, especially after the disappointment of losing their opener to Bengaluru FC 0-2 last week.

“We showed a totally different face of what Mumbai City FC have to be [this season],” Guimaraes said. “It’s hard to take a draw in the last minute but we got up again [after conceding] and fought to get a chance to score.”

Work in progress

Despite the win, Mumbai still have a lot to work on as the season progresses. In Bengaluru, Guimaraes went for a cautious approach and parked the bus to contain the ISL debutants. However, the plan backfired in the second half as BFC found a way through the Mumbai defence twice.

On Saturday, Mumbai were a bit more adventurous going forward, although they still held only 37% possession – at home. This was even lesser than the 44% possession they had in Bengaluru. However, while the Islanders had only a solitary attempt on goal in their last match, they had as many as 10 against Goa at home, six of which were on target.

But going forward left Mumbai exposed at the back, especially in the first half, which was reflected in Goa’s 11 attempts on goal. While Guimaraes admitted that the attack and defence was not synchronised, he added that it was much better in the second half even as the team became more aggressive going forward.

Forced change in personnel

Because of injuries to defenders Aiborlang Khongjee and Davinder Singh and midfielder Leo Costa, Guimaraes was forced to play some available players out of position. Defender Gerson Vieira was playing as a defensive midfielder, while Abinash Ruidas was at left-back. Captain Lucian Goian was responsible for holding his team’s defence together but it will be a while before everyone gets used to their new positions.

As a result, Mumbai have already conceded three goals in two matches this season. Last year, they had conceded eight in 14 matches of the league phase, including eight clean sheets, as they ended up topping the table. Guimaraes felt it was unfair to compare this team with the one last year considering they were forced to have a change in personnel during the draft.

“We are trying to get this balance so that when we are attacking, we continue defending well and we are well positioned,” said the Costa Rican. “I think we managed to do that better than the last game.”

Despite the manner of the win, getting the three points would have given Mumbai a boost, especially with two back-to-back away games coming up against FC Pune and Kerala Blasters. “Winning always brings more courage, enthusiasm and belief,” said Guimaraes, “Winning the way we did will help us improve in all departments.”