Kolkata: Mumbai City FC defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant 3-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium here to emerge as the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 Cup Winners.
The Islanders came from behind after Jason Cummings handed the Mariners a lead late in the first half. Second half strikes by Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Bipin Singh, and Jakub Vojtus ensured that the Petr Kratky-coached side settled the scores against the home side in to draw curtains on the 10th season of the ISL, a release issued by ISL stated.
In the first-ever ISL grand finale held in Kolkata, Mumbai City FC returned the happier of the two teams winning their second ISL final. Both sides treaded a cautious line in the opening half, focusing on holding their shape, playing to their strengths, and not giving away too much to work on for the opposition. However, Mohun Bagan Super Giant drew the first blood thanks to their fierce offensive duo of Dimitrios Petratos and Cummings.
Petratos unleashed a shot that caught Mumbai City FC goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa off-guard. The custodian fumbled the effort; with Cummings present right there like a fox in the box to bury the chance in the 44th minute and ensure that his team entered the break with a lead in hand.
The Islanders adopted newer courses of play, involving a long ball from Alberto Noguera to their Argentine striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz eight minutes into the second half. Diaz’s sharp offensive instincts were right there on display, calmly bringing the ball down, steering near Vishal Kaith and slotting the ball into the back of the net to equalise the scores.
An unfortunate knock picked by Diaz in the 72nd minute opened the floodgates for the comeback by the visitors. As the striker was taken off the field, Slovak striker Vojtus replaced him and was central to both the goals that Mumbai City FC scored after that. Bipin’s one came through a scrambled effort where Vikram Partap Singh squared up a pass for Lallianzuala Chhangte at the edge of the box. Chhangte’s attempt at goal took a nick off Vojtus’ foot, but amidst a crowded situation, Bipin hammered in the ball to get his side the lead in the game.
The Mariners desperately sought to level scores in the added time of the second half, but they ended up exposing large chunks of space in the backline. Vojtus capitalised on one of those loose balls, getting control over the ball on the right side of the box and demonstrating impeccable efficiency to net his team’s third goal of the night.
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