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Mumbai City beat Odisha 2-0 to record a third straight win in the 2020-21 Indian Super League on Sunday at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim.
First half goals from Bartholomew Ogbeche and Rowllin Borges were enought for the Islanders to control the game and secure a win.
The first 15 minutes of the game failed to produce clear-cut chances but Mumbai City were quick to announce their dominance. The midfield consisting of Rowllin Borges and Ahmed Jahouh dictated proceedings and nearly played their opponents out of the park.
Diego Mauricio did go close with a free-kick from the edge of the box but aside from that, there was little joy in front of goal for the striker.
Mumbai City kept knocking on the door and were finally rewarded at the half-hour mark. Vignesh Dakshinamurthy's attempted cross from the left flank struck the arm of Shubham Sarangi and the referee pointed to the spot.
Bartholomew Ogbeche stepped up and coolly delivered the deadlock-breaker to put Mumbai City ahead in the 30th minute.
There was controversy a few minutes later when Mourtada Fall climbed the highest inside the box to get to a cross before the opposition's goalkeeper Kamaljeet Singh. Fall's header found the net in and the keeper fell to the ground following the clash. The referee, however, awarded a free-kick to Odisha, deeming the incident to be a foul by Fall.
Mumbai City continued to put pressure on the Odisha defence whenever they pushed forward and they scored again right before the break. Hugo Boumous picked out Bipin on the left flank who delivered a good cross into the box. With the defence focused on dealing with Ogbeche in the centre, Borges made a late run into the box and headed the ball into the net.
Odisha struggled to create clear-cut chances after the restart. Stuart Baxter brought on Marcelinho in search of a way back into the game but the Brazilian did not get the required support from his teammates.
Boumous, after shrugging off Tratt's challenge outside the box, had the ball in the net after hour-mark but the assistant referee had raised his flag for the defender's foul earlier in the move.
Odisha had a couple of attempts at Amrinder's goal but nothing that sent the defence into panic mode. Marcelinho linked up with another second half substitute Manuel Onwu who released Laishram into the box but the substitute hit his effort well wide and Odisha were forced to accept the defeat in added time.
93 - @MumbaiCityFC's Ahmed Jahouh registered 93 passes against @OdishaFC, more than triple the passes by any Odisha FC player. Dominating. #MCFCOFC #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/4RwE8uCJUZ
— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) December 6, 2020
