Mumbai City FC’s 100% win record was brought to an end as their ten men could not hold on to the first-half lead given to them by Matias Defederico. Atletico de Kolkata took full advantage of Pronay Halder’s sending off as they found their equaliser with 12 minutes to go through Javi Lara.
Mumbai remain top, one point ahead of NorthEast United.
Here are a few interesting talking points from the game.
#1 Defederico's form
Matias Defederico has had a wonderful start to the tournament this year. Today, his job was to ensure that Mumbai didn't miss the services of Diego Forlan and the Argentine obliged with a stunning first half. He set Boithang Haokip on his way, a few times only for the young Manipuri to be thwarted by what looked like a few dodgy Kolkata tackles.
But when he did get his chance, Defederico took it brilliantly, putting the ball in the bottom left corner giving Debjit Majumder no chance. This was the Argentine’s second goal of the season, following a similar effort in Mumbai’s opening game win against Pune.
It wasn’t just his goals that made Defederico a threat to the Kolkata defence. He was elusive and moved around the pitch, making it difficult for a single defender to pick him up, meaning the entire Kolkata backline had to be alert at all points.
His impact waned in the second half, though, as Kolkata grew into the game, and Mumbai lost the calmness they had shown in possession in the first half.
#2 Haokip's promise
The young Manipuri had a stunning first half, with his pace troubling Arnab Mondal and Tiri to no end. He timed his runs beautifully to beat the offside trap, and he was getting fed well by Defederico and Leo Costa.
Once, he lost his footing while jumping over a slide from Debjit, while a more blatant penalty was denied when Haokip pounced on an error from Debjit only for the 'keeper's trailing leg to catch him and bring him down.
He looked to have run out of steam in the second half.
This was a different Haokip to the one that was seen at NorthEast over the past two seasons. He seemed more fearless and ready to make the tough calls instead of choosing the easy way out. He had a very good effort that hit the post before Defederico found the net for Mumbai.
However, he was still a little bit timid, a little shy to ask the officials the tough question. For both the tackles by Debjit, apart from a stare in the general direction of the referee, he didn’t react.
A more experienced player might have tried to persuade and coax the referee into giving a decision in his favour.
#3 Quiet Hume
It wouldn't be stretching it to say that Iain Hume was the standout player over the first two seasons of the ISL. But so far this season, the Canadian has struggled to find his touch. He was kept quiet through the first game against Chennaiyin and the second game in Kochi.
Even today, he was having a hard time as Goian and Gerson Viera kept him quiet. He was taken off at half-time by José Molina, to be replaced by Stephen Pearson.
It is an understatement to say that Kolkata need more from Hume. He scored 12 goals last season, but his goals weren’t his only contribution. His defensive work-rate, his ability to bring other players into the game and dictate the tempo and flow of their attacking play made him Kolkata's single biggest asset.
Now, especially with marquee player Helder Postiga missing, Kolkata will be desperate for Hume’s craft and guile to shine through.
#4 Reckless Mumbai tackling
In the heat of the moment, Mumbai's players got a little too anxious to win the ball back, especially the Indians. Aibor Khongjee was the first in the book for a bad tackle on Prabir Das, followed by Sena Ralte on Pritam Kotal, and Sehnaj Singh on Javi Lara.
But, the moment that turned the game for Mumbai was Pronay Halder's moment of madness. With a yellow card already given to him, it didn't make any sense to dive in, especially when the opponent was facing his own goal.
In many ways, Halder’s sending off was a huge fillip for Kolkata and also disrupted Alexandre Guimaraes’s game plan as he had just brought on Sony Norde and Jackichand Singh before the sending off.
In theory, it sounded a foolproof plan, to hit Kolkata on the break with the pace of Norde and Jacki, but Halder going off meant that both of them had to be more subdued and disciplined, in carrying out their defensive responsibilities.
#5 Kolkata make a fist of it
Halder's sending off gave Kolkata the impetus that they needed. It injected life into their game, and Javi Lara and Sameehg Doutie became more involved in the game. Molina's decision to bring Didika on bore dividends too, as the winger was instrumental in the improvement in Kolkata's play.
Didika also set up Lara's strike that was the equaliser. Lara deserved the goal, even though he was aided by a significant deflection off Jacki. He was Kolkata’s best player on a night when they desperately missed Postiiga, with both Doutie and Juan Belencoso having indifferent games, in addition to Hume not being at his best.
Lara’s goal meant that Kolkata got themselves a point that they would consider a bonus, given the way they played in the first half.
But then, as they say, the champion sides are the ones that get themselves points on the board even if they haven’t played well enough to deserve those.
