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Mumbai City FC and FC Goa played out an entertaining 3-3 draw at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim in their 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) encounter.
With the win, the Islanders became the first team in the competition to qualify for the playoffs mathematically.
Hugo Boumous opened the floodgates when he gave Mumbai City FC the lead in the 20th minute.
Adam Le Fondre doubled the lead six minutes later before Glan Martins unleashed a scorching strike at the stroke of half-time to pull one back for FC Goa.
Igor Angulo restored parity in the 51st minute after getting at the end of a cross from Alberto Noguera.
Rowllin Borges gave Mumbai City FC the lead once again in the 90th minute, but Ishan Pandita leveled things up in the dying embers of the game.
Here are the four things we learned from the encounter.
#4 FC Goa's problem of conceding goals from set-pieces continue
Prior to the match, FC Goa had conceded 12 out of 16 goals from set-pieces.
Mumbai City FC, who are prolific from set-pieces, took advantage of their frailties and punished them.
Bipin Singh swung his corner-kick to the far post and Hernan Santana got a free header. But Dheeraj Singh's quick reflexes ensured he got a touch on the ball.
But the rebound fell only as far as an unmarked Adam Le Fondre. The Englishman nodded the ball into an empty net to score Mumbai City FC's second goal.
The Islanders' third goal also came as a result of a set-piece. Hugo Boumous floated his free-kick away from the reach of FC Goa goalkeeper and Rowllin Borges had a simple tap-in.
#3 Mumbai City FC's goalscoring spree in the first half continues
Mumbai City FC entered the contest having scored 12 first-half goals in the tournament so far, the most by any ISL team.
They added two more goals to their tally in the encounter against FC Goa.
Hugo Boumous positioned himself near the end of the halfway line to receive a pass from Adam Le Fondre on the counter-attack.
As one cannot be offside in his own half, the Mumbai City FC playmaker made full use of the space given in front of him and darted 50 yards with the ball.
Boumous calmly rounded off FC Goa's goalkeeper to score the first goal of the game.
FC Goa's poor marking in set-pieces allowed Mumbai City FC to score their second of the match.
#2 Rowllin Borges turns from villain to hero
In a clash of styles where both teams prefer to keep the ball and dictate possession, the onus lay on the defensive midfielders to break down the opposition's attacks.
Although Rowllin Borges produced a good shift in the center of the park, FC Goa won the midfield battle as they ended the match with 57% possession.
In the 80th minute of the match, Hugo Boumous delivered a low cross and Rowllin Borges had an empty net in front of him. However, he miskicked and completely missed the ball.
The Indian international midfielder made up for his mistake ten minutes later, scoring a tap in to give Mumbai City FC the lead once again.
#1 Super-sub Ishan Pandita rescues the day for FC Goa
A defeat looked imminent for FC Goa but Ishan Pandita scored moments before the full-time whistle. The goal ensured the Gaurs walked away from the match with a point.
This was Pandita's third goal of the campaign and they have all come off the bench. He has now played six matches for FC Goa, but all of them have been substitute appearances.
Ishan Pandita replaced Saviour Gama in injury time of the second half and headed in a cross from Edu Bedia to equalize for FC Goa. The goal was scored from his third touch of the game!
