Mumbai Strikers SC continued their winning run by taking down State Bank of India (SBI) on a hot Wednesday afternoon. The Strikers played their first Mumbai Football League match at the Poinsur Gymkhana Grounds and registered a 2-0 victory which took them to the play-offs for the third consecutive year.
It was never an easy encounter as the SBI outfit was a mixed bag of experienced and young players. The Strikers were alert right from the start as SBI had displayed the will to comeback from a few goals down in their earlier matches. In the first half, both teams took a while to adapt to the situation as it was a new venue and the wind blew hard enough for the ball to change direction mid-air. Mumbai Strikers were in for a scare as SBI were creative in the midfield and one of their players skillfully entered the penalty area but miscued the ball due to a heavy touch. After a while the MS defense opened up again where an SBI winger came in through a throw-in and had an attempt on goal which went over the bar. The Strikers then increased the pace upfront and had many shots on target which were blocked by a stubborn SBI defense. Then came the moment of magic when MS won a free kick in their half. Ryan K stepped up to take the shot which curled right into the SBI area and was elegantly flicked over the rushing keeper by Ravish D. The entire squad breathed in a sigh of relief as the deadlock was broken. The first half scoreline read 1-0 in favour of MS.
In the second half, SBI had a quiet start as they conceded tremendous pressure. However, they cleared the ball on time only to keep the MS attack waiting for the second goal. The moment was not too far as MS midfielder Arsalan H found Ravish D in the right spot again. Ravish placed the ball well out of the keepers reach to give his team a 2-0 lead. SBI were not convincing but still tried to penetrate into the MS defense and troubled them on several occasions. The final whistle was blown and MS marched forward into the play-off stage with a 2-0 win.
MS have been very consistent in the league so far and have had a good run. However, Coach Firmin called for more focus and hard work for the play-off stage. MS will play their last group match against Central Railway (MD) on the 27th of January.