I-League: Matsugae magic inspires Mumbai FC to first win

MUMBAI: It needed the brilliance and bravery of Mumbai FC's Samurai warrior, Taisuke Matsugae, to give them their first victory after two draws -a 2-1 verdict over Salgaocar in their third round I-League game at the Cooperage on Sunday.
Captain Matsugae of Japan not only scored a stunning first goal to give them a 37th minute lead but also showed a first class work ethic to make the second.He scored the first with a crisp drive from 22 yards which beat Salgaocar goalkeeper Karanjit Singh on the left. For the second goal, Matsugae won the ball in the midfield with a beautiful sliding tackle, passed it to Eric Brown on the left, took the return pass and then set up Sushil Kumar who scored.
Salgaocar came back strongly in the second half, and managed to pull one back with a touch of fortune. Jackichand Singh swept the ball from the right and the ball found enough height and enough dip to beat Mumbai FC goalkeeper Pawan Kumar from a narrow angle on the right in the 66th minute.
Mumbai FC looked insipid in the first 15 minutes. Then coach Khalid Jamil swapped Eric Brown and Jayesh Rane's flanks. The Liberian moved to the left and that brought about an immediate change. Mumbai started creating more openings, and apart from Matsugae's strike, they could have had another two goals at least. A move involving Izumi Arata and Ryuki Kozawa saw the former's shot take the tiniest of deflections off the goalkeeper. From the resulting corner, defender Pratik Chowdhury was presented with a free header which he put over the bar.
Inexplicably, Khalid made the kind of substitution that almost killed their game. He brought in Asif Kottayil for Brown and in a very defensive role. Mumbai FC lost steam and nearly their lead as Salgaocar came back strongly in the final 20 minutes. Salgaocar striker Darryl Duffy also hit the bar with a slick header from a free kick but Mumbai escaped to victory. Mumbai have five points from three games while Salgaocar have zero from three games.