#4 Kolkata stand tall
Trending
There were questions asked after Kolkata’s manager Molina changed three of the four that started in defence at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium. Prabir Das and Keegan Pereira were excellent in the full-back positions in the first leg. But in this game, they were replaced by Pritam Kotal and Robert Lalthlamuana.
The move seemed to have back-fired when Robert was sent off in the 43rd minute, but from then on, Kolkata’s character came to the fore.
Led by the experience of the brilliant Borja Fernandez and Stephen Pearson in midfield, Kolkata began to absorb all the Mumbai pressure. They allowed Mumbai to have the ball but ensured that the hosts were not allowed to create anything significant.
At half-time, Molina took off Abinash Ruidas to bring on Keegan, and the former Mumbai player did not put a foot wrong, whether it was against Defederico or Jackichand, after the Indian winger came on. As the game wore on, Kolkata’s experienced players stood up more and more. Borja was terrific with his determination and athleticism in midfield. Pearson was astute in his reading of the game. Sereno and Tiri in between them, combined really well to ensure that what crossed the midfield did not go past them.
In the second half, Debjit had only one save to make, off a fabulous volley from Goian. Kolkata were largely comfortable despite going down to ten men and that is a huge credit to their character, determination and fitness
