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Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan of Kolkata witnessed a thrilling semi-final encounter between Mohammedan SC and Mumbai City FC on Wednesday, September 14.
The match started with the Black Panthers dominating proceedings during the opening exchanges between the two sides. But as the match progressed, the balance tilted in favor of the visiting team. Eventually, Bipin Singh netted the winner of what was an evenly contested tie, guiding the Islanders to their very first Durand Cup final.
Mumbai City FC's head coach Des Buckingham, who was at the post-match press conference, praised the all-round display put up by the Kolkata-based outfit. He said:
"You have to give full credit to Mohammedan Sporting. They made it very difficult for us in the first half. They really came at us. I said before the game that they are an excellent team and they have some very good players. They've been able to showcase that."
The Islanders missed a few of their key players in the crucial match against Mohammedan SC. Speaking on the absentees, Buckingham said:
"I think there are probably 4 or 5 different reasons that we've been trying to juggle since we've been here. The first is that we only played three days ago. So Mohammedan had an extra two days of rest. The second is the rotation of players.
"We welcomed Mourtada Fall back to the group only a week ago. He has had some training and we are trying to avoid any injuries for him. It's important that he plays not only in this tournament but also in the ISL."
Buckingham added that the duration between their quarter-final and semi-final encounter forced him to rest a few of their key players, keeping the ISL in mind.
Mohammedan SC coach not disheartened by defeat against Mumbai City FC
Mohammedan SC started the game well but failed to maintain their momentum and saw themselves lose grip over the tie. Speaking at the post-match press conference, head coach Andrey Chernyshov said:
"Yes, we lost. We lost against one of the best teams in India. They have so many good players, they play a nice brand of football and have good organization."
The Black Panthers head coach credited his players for putting up a fight against Mumbai City, despite failing to bag a win in front of their fans.
