Mumbai City FC cheat footballing gods to break FC Goa hearts in ISL semi-final

FC Goa, Manolo Marquez and the footballing gods had a different script in their hands and Mumbai City had another. The latter was a secret and while everything went according to the plan for the first party, Mumbai sprung the surprise in stoppage time to stun the Fatorda Stadium and script the unthinkable in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Till the 90th minute, Goa led 2-0 with Boris Singh Thangjam (16’) and Brandon Fernandes (56’) scoring in an almost-packed stadium. There were no signs Mumbai could come back from there, and there had never been a precedence.

No team had come from 0-2 down to win a game in the ISL playoffs. No team had scored three goals in minutes 90 or later in the history of the league. No team had scored multiple goals in the injury time of the second half of the ISL playoffs. 22 out of 33 matches in the ISL playoffs had been won by the home team. But the Lallianzuala Chhangte-inspired Mumbai shattered all these records in just six minutes.

Just when those ruling the game decided to take a breather, Mumbai hit back. First with Jayesh Rane picking Chhangte in the box and the Indian winger outfoxing goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem for the first goal in the 90th minute. Second with Vikram Partap Singh equalising in the 91st minute by slotting in a rebound from the keeper. And the third, the winner, a Chhangte special in the 96th minute where the Mizo’s first touch made the time stand still and allowed him to fire in the winner.

All of this happened so quickly that it felt like a dream. Something that you witnessed but couldn’t believe had happened. The body language of the FC Goa family was the only visible proof. They were crestfallen while the coaching staff looked as if they had witnessed ghosts.

It certainly gave nightmares to FC Goa coach and former ISL Cup winner, Marquez, who was livid with his team. “You can’t concede three goals in six-seven minutes,” he bemoaned to the broadcasters after Mumbai stole a win from right under their nose. But he added that they will need to quickly recover for the second leg, which will be played at the Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri on 29 February.

Goa rue missed chances

Crushing as the win must have been to their morale, there are a lot of positives to take for Goa who dominated the match for the most part and had six shots on target. Besides Boris’ goal which was the result of his high work-rate and Brandon’s golazo, Noah Sadaoui had a quick shot just missing the post at the end of the first half and a stretching Phurba Lachenpa saved Odei Onaindia’s effort in the 79th minute but Goa failed to convert the chances despite Mumbai defenders having a below-average game.

The defending from Goa, on the other hand, was excellent till all hell broke loose in injury time. With playmaker Alberto Noguera missing due to injury and striker Jakub Vojtus starting for suspended Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Mumbai’s attacking instincts were curbed and the majority of their chances came through either Chhangte or set pieces which were confidently dealt with by Odei, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Seriton Fernandes and Jay Gupta.

Another aspect where Goa impressed with was the tactical shifts by Marquez which saw Boris playing in midfield and not as a right-back. Veteran Seriton kept things calm from the right side for long against one of the best ISL sides. Mohammad Yasir was moved from left to right wing which kept Mumbai defenders guessing for a long time as the Manipuri created the first goal.

Mumbai’s squad depth impresses

Goa’s biggest fault on the night, however, was not seeing off the game and losing concentration in the last phase – when it’s so easy to be complacent.

Mumbai, on the other hand, won the game but apart from the fightback, there were quite a few things that wouldn’t have impressed coach Petr Kratky. Of course, Noguera and Diaz were missing but until Rane came on in the second half, there was a clear lack of attacking threat from the midfield.

Kratky’s decision to play Mehtab Singh as the right-back backfired with both goals coming from his mistakes, after he lost the ball in crucial positions. The Czech’s biggest achievement on the night was to pocket an incredible resurgent win with just one overseas player on the pitch at the end. At the same time, five of the 10 Indian footballers were uncapped.

If you think they lacked talent or experience, they had intent and hunger to make up for it and Goa would know the second leg is going to be next to impossible. But then again Wednesday game is a reminder that it is possible.