Mumbai City FC crawl back to register comeback victory against resilient Punjab FC

After going behind in the first half, Mumbai City FC (MCFC), inspired by the dynamism of super-sub Lallianzuala Chhangte, rallied to tuck home two late goals and register a 2-1 victory over Punjab FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday, November 2.

Despite their evident superiority on paper, Mumbai had a cagey start to their night. Vikram Pratap Singh, who was starting his second successive league match, was overzealous from the first whistle. While his early attempt flew wide of the target, he was shown a yellow card in the third minute itself, for a clumsy foul.

The Shers, meanwhile, weren't particularly majestic but did continue to match the champions of India blow for blow. Luka Majcen, in the 15th minute, registered Punjab's first effort on target when he directed Juan Mera's cross towards the MCFC goal. But it was an easy grab for Mohammad Nawaz, who had slotted between the posts in the absence of Phurba Lachenpa.

Mumbai continued to give away unnecessary fouls and Rostyn Griffiths entered the referee's books in the 20th minute. Chances were few and far between for Punjab FC but they were definitely creating better opportunities. Their impetus and the Islanders' reluctance paid dividends ultimately in the 38th minute.

Krishnananda Singh won the ball in the middle of the park, before setting up Majcen. The Slovenian forward strolled towards the opposition box and without any resistance from the Mumbai defenders, Majcen calmly tucked the ball into the bottom left corner.

Wrinkles slowly started to creep up on Des Buckingham's forehead as the defending champions were now trailing against the newly promoted outfit. Mumbai were seemingly losing their calm as they ended up gathering three more yellows before the half-time break. Greg Stewart was booked for simulation while Rahul Bheke and Mehtab Singh were carded for arguing with the official.

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Mumbai City FC keep it late but manage to bag the three points against Punjab FC

Not many would've expected Mumbai City FC to go into the break trailing at home, but that's where they stood. Des Buckingham had to quickly react and brought on Lallianzuala Chhangte in place of Vikram Pratap Singh. The introduction of Chhangte gave the Islanders an attacking edge.

In the 57th minute, Apuia Ralte came close to restoring parity when his ambitious volley clipped the top of the crossbar. The 23-year-old came alive in the second half and had a couple of half chances. As the match boiled down to the final 10 minutes, the Mumbai Football Arena was enveloped in a deafening silence. The stage was calling for a moment of magic.

Jayesh Rane fed Stewart just outside the opposition box in the 82nd minute, and the Scottish international whipped a curling effort into the far post, and even an outstretched Ravi Kumar couldn't keep the ball out. The Mumbai fans had only just started celebrating the equalizer when the hosts doubled the lead through Jorge Pereyra Diaz. Chhangte made a driving run before feeding the Argentine striker for an easy tap-in.

Within a short interval, the Islanders had managed to turn the game on its head. The Shers had no response left and were further handicapped when Dimitrios Chatziisaias was red-carded in the 97th minute. Although the replays showed there was no considerable error from the Greek defender, the referee stuck to his decision.

As the referee blew the final whistle to mark the Islanders' third victory of the season, they climbed to second in the rankings. Meanwhile, Punjab are still stuck in the 11th position but will take a lot of encouragement from their performance tonight, especially in the first half.