Vikram Pratap Singh ends Mumbai City’s endless streak as they edge past Chennaiyin
Mumbai City finally ended their excruciatingly long winless streak with a 1-0 victory over Chennaiyin in ‘Match 83’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season as Vikram Pratap Singh scored the decisive goal in the 85th minute of the match.
Chennaiyin head coach Bozidar Bandovic was forced to make two changes to his starting XI with both Mohd Sajid Dhot and Vladimir Koman nursing injuries. Germanpreet Singh replaced the former while Lukasz Gikiewicz came in for Koman and played as a striker alongside Nerijus Valskis with Suhail Pasha switching to a midfield role.
Similarly, Mumbai City head coach Des Buckingham also made a couple of changes to his team as Igor Angulo was reinstated in the starting XI at the expense of new signing Diego Mauricio while another new signing in Lallinzuala Chhangte came in for Vikram.
The first period of the first half was dominated by the Islanders, albeit without any clear-cut openings. Their first chance of the game came in the 9th minute when Bipin Singh floated in a cross from the left flank which fell for Angulo after the Chennaiyin defenders failed to clear their lines. However, the Spaniard’s shot was directed straight at Debjit Majumder in the Marina Machans’ goal.
Five minutes later, a Cassinho corner found Rahul Bheke in space but the chance went begging as the defender failed to connect properly with the delivery. The defending champions’ onslaught continued and their best chance of the first half came in the 19th minute when Cassinho made a darting run down the right flank before cutting a pass back for an unmarked Angulo.
The former Goa could have slotted his shot anywhere he wanted, but for the second time on the night, he struck his effort straight at Majumder. Three minutes later, Chhangte decided to take the onus on his shoulders and launched a venomous shot, but he too was denied by the Chennaiyin custodian.
The Marina Machans’ first noteworthy effort came in the 34th minute, courtesy of Ariel Borysiuk’s individual brilliance. The Polish midfielder struck a bullet of a shot from outside the box but narrowly missed the target. Just before the lemon break, Chhangte tried breaking the deadlock with a decent freekick but Majumder turned out to be his nemesis again.
The initial phases of the second half were cagey with not many openings. In the 60th minute, Ahmed Jahouh floated in a corner directed at Angulo, but it was simply not the Spaniard’s day at the office. Angulo missed another opportunity barely a minute later when he failed to connect with a delightful pass from Chhangte.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner was eventually substituted for Brad Inman in the 83rd minute and it turned out to be a masterstroke by Buckingham. A couple of minutes later, the Aussie midfielder received a ball from the deep and went for a cross but his initial attempt was blocked by Slavko Damjanovic. The rebound also fell kindly for him and this time around, he found another substitute in Vikram at the far post who made no mistake in slotting his shot past Majumder.
Lukasz Gikiewicz missed a sitter in the dying moments of the match
Just as when it seemed that the Islanders have pocketed all three points, Bandovic’s team got the easiest chance of the match. The Islanders’ goalkeeper Mohamad Nawaz punched away a Jerry Lalrinzuala freekick, but his fisted clearance found Borisyuk who then passed it to Gikiewicz inside the box. The Polish striker was unmarked and had the entire goal gaping but he incredibly managed to miss the target from handshaking distance.
With this win, Mumbai City has ended their seven-game winless streak and climbed to the fifth position. They will now take on Odisha on Sunday while the seventh-placed Chennaiyin will take on Goa on Wednesday.