Mumbai City FC have made it to their first Indian Super League final after beating FC Goa in a nail-biting penalty shootout at the GMC Stadium.
Mumbai City trounce Goa 6-5 in the penalties
Coming off of a 2-2 aggregate in the first leg, both sides were prepared to leave no stone unturned to secure a berth for the final match. Neither Mumbai nor Goa were ready to give each other an edge and possession-based build-up plays to make attempts on taking the lead.
By the 27th minute, Goa winger 4Redeem Tlang’s strike was blocked by Amey Ranawade. Going goalless into the second half, Goa were slightly ahead on possession. However, with neither of the contenders failing to find the back of the net, the extra-time play was looking as the get-go. However, James Donachie earned a brilliant chance just before the end of regular time, only to head it outside the net.
The half an hour of extra time also did not churn out a score for either side, and the penalty shootout was underway.
The shootout started with Goa missing both of their first two shots, while Mumbai took the lead with Ogbeche’s composed strike. However, Naveen Kumar’s amazing keeping finesse brought Goa back into the game as he blocked both Santana and Boumous.
After Angulo scored Goa’s first penalty, Gonzalez put his side ahead of Mumbai 2-1. However, Mumbai also caught up via Raynier Fernandes’ goal. With one shot remaining for each side, Donachie missed his shot but Naveen put the game into sudden death by saving Jahouh’s strike.
At a score of 5-5, Glan Martins did the blunder for Goa as he sidefooted the ball away from the goal, while Rowllin Borges made no mistake against Naveen and put the winning strike to put his side into their first ISL final.
“I am very proud and happy to make the final. Its very special to play in final for me,” Mumbai City manager Sergio Lobera said after the game, “I have very good players and personalities in dressing room.”
“They deserve to enjoy this moment and hopefully to win the trophy for the people who believed in us at the start. My focus is on the final,” Lobera added.
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