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Mumbai City FC had a season to forget after they finished in the sixth place, six points out of the semi-finals spots. With only four wins under their belt at the end of the league stages, Mumbai never had enough to make a claim for the top four spots.
However, there was a point in the season when they looked on course to making the semi-final spots, after they had registered three straight wins at the back end of October. However, it fell apart for Mumbai City FC from there and it coincided with the absence of one player, who arguably was their best player this season.
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Haitian Sony Norde was signed by Mumbai City FC before the second season of the ISL and the man with golden hair was the brightest spot in what proved to be a rather dull season for Mumbai. Norde racked up four assists and three goals for the Mumbai outfit and was involved in almost all of the other goals which they scored.
The team failed to pick up maximum points from their first two away games this season despite the Haitian creating a host of chances, which Nicolas Anelka’s men couldn’t convert. However, it was his assists that helped the team from Mumbai win their first match against Delhi Dynamos when he assisted both of Sunil Chhetri’s goals. That win was the first of the three Mumbai City FC won on the bounce to jump to second place in the table.
Mumbai’s success was built on a tactical tweak which saw Sunil Chhetri take up a more central role and bang the goals in for fun. However, a big part of this tactical change’s success was down to Sony Norde whose bursts of pace on the wings created the gaps for Sunil Chhetri in the middle of the park to exploit.
Norde scored his first goal of the season in Mumbai City FC’s 5-1 win, a game in which he totally terrorized the NorthEast United backline. The Haitian also provided the cross which lead to Mumbai City FC’s third goal which ended the game as a contest.
A season that was going great took a turn for the worse when Sony Norde had to miss some games for Mumbai City as he received a call up to the national team. They lacked bite in Norde’s absence and failed to score a single goal when he wasn’t with the team.
Despite having Sunil Chhetri back in their ranks, Mumbai City FC didn’t see the best of him in the games against FC Goa and NorthEast United as the Indian captain cut a frustrated figure after struggling to find the space and support which he enjoyed in Sony Norde’s presence.
Mumbai City FC managed to pick up only a single point in the three games which Sony Norde missed and that dealt a huge blow to their ambitions of making it to the top four. The winger returned to the team in the Kerala Blasters game at home and Mumbai looked a much better team in the first half against the Blasters.
Norde’s sharp in-swinging corners troubled the Blasters defense all evening and eventually brought the breakthrough for Mumbai City FC. In the second half, Sony Norde played as a striker and his pace always kept the Blasters on toes. However, Mumbai swapped him for Frederic Piquionne late on and lost the guile upfront which allowed Kerala Blasters to build pressure and grab a late equalizer.
Mumbai City FC’s season ended on a rainy evening in Chennai, but Norde was Mumbai City’s best player in the second half as he hit the post with his shot and assisted Sunil Chhetri whose effort also thundered against the woodwork.
Going into the final game of the season, Mumbai languished at the bottom of the table and were tipped to stay there as Nicolas Anelka’s men faced Champions Atletico de Kolkata after only reaching Kolkata a few hours prior to the game at the Salt Lake Stadium after being stuck in Chennai due to heavy rain.
But against all odds, the team created history by bringing down the champions in their own backyard to claim their first ever away win in the ISL. Mumbai City’s best player on this historic evening in Kolkata was once again Sony Norde, who scored a brace which included a 93rd minute winner.
The win lifted Mumbai City FC to sixth place in the ISL table and Sony Norde once again gave the team’s fans a reason to smile. Had it not been for the magical Haitian, Mumbai’s season would have been worth absolutely nothing. Sunil Chhetri is the highest Indian goal scorer in the ISL till date and he has Sony Norde to thank for that achievement.
Sony Norde was one of the most explosive players in the second coming of the Indian Super League and there is no doubt that Mumbai City FC are likely to stick with the Haitian’s services for the next season.
