MARGAO: Salgaocar Sports Club suffered another setback in their quest for the I-League crown when they lost to Mumbai Football Club 3-2 in an exciting match played at Nehru stadium, here on Friday evening. Mumbai FC left Salgaocar in disbelief taking 2-0 lead at the breather with Keegan Pereira and medio Noel Wilson scoring in the 17th and 32nd minutes respectively. They added one more goal to their tally in the 67th minute through Nicolas Rodrigues, an excellent midfielder and Benaulim lad who now plays for Mumbai outfit.
Salgaocar however reduced the margin through Yufuf Yakubu (64th minute) and Milagres Gonsalves (86th minute).
Salgaocar who still occupy the top spot with 46 points in 22 matches, will have a huge task ahead to maintain their top position as Churchill Brothers, East Bengal and Dempo Sports Club having 44 points each are closely following them. With this win Mumbai FC have increased their points tally to 32.
Salgaocar keeper Karanjit Singh was kept stranded when Mumbai FC scored their first goal. Mumbai FC medio C Malsawm Kima worked his way down the right flank just a few meters away from the ‘D’ area and gave a cross pass to onrushing defender Keegan Pereira whose 25 yard drive gave no chance to the Salgaocar keeper.
The match was then played at a faster pace and suddenly medio Nicolas Rodrigues gave a pass to Noel Wilson who intelligently chipped the ball into the nets to once again beat the Salgaocar keeper. In the second session Salgaocar managed to reduce the margin as Milagres Gonsalves fed Yakubu into the box and the striker sent an angular header to beat the Mumbai FC keeper Nidhin Lal.
However, Mumbai FC retaliated and scored yet another gem of a goal again with a long ranger through Nicolas Rodrigues whose scorching left footer bulged the nets off a pass by Ebi Sukore Theophlius.
Just a few minutes before the final hooter, Salgacar once again were in the thick of action when they managed to find the mark through Milagres Gonsalves. Mumbai FC’s Noel Wilson was adjudged the man-of-the match.
Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa was clearly disappointed with his team’s poor performance against Mumbai FC and rued over missing so many scoring opportunities. He however refrained from blaming anybody for the defeat and rather exuded confidence in his team to bounce back. “We will have to recover well and quickly to maintain the top position. The competition is tough ahead but I have confidence in my boys that they will do it for the Salgoacar team,” Bencherifa said.
He however criticised Mumbai FC players’ time-delaying tactics and said that they should have displayed better team spirit. On many occasions Mumbai FC players adopted time-delaying tactics by feigning injuries which did not go well even among the spectators and who in turn booed the referee. Salgaocar had the better of ball possession and the team combined well but failed in the final stages due to their strikers’ lack of imagination.
Only the experienced Sufi Yakuby proved dangerous and had a hand in almost both the goals that the Salgaocar team scored to reduce the margin. Had his other colleagues upfront in Rayji Sueoka, medios Francis Fernmandes and Gibert Okliviera and substitute Cajetan Fernandes shown more agility and not delayed the ball to shoot into the rival goal, the result of the match could have been quite different.
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