MARGAO, Feb 13: Mumbai City FC produced a dominating display to beat Odisha FC 4-1 in an Indian Super League match here on Sunday.
A brace each from Igor Angulo (41st, 70th minute) and Bipin Singh (47th, 73rd) was enough to cancel Jonathas’ (90+1) goal and secure three points that lifted Mumbai to the fourth spot on the table.
On the other hand, the Kalinga Warriors were left licking their wounds as they remained in seventh place.
Mumbai were denied two shouts for a penalty early in the match as they pushed for the opening goal. Both teams exchanged blows back and forth until the half-hour mark, looking for the opening goal.
Jerry Mawihmingthanga came extremely close to opening the scoring but Mandar Dessai denied him with a last-ditch clearance right after the drinks break.
However, it was the Islanders that broke the deadlock through Igor Angulo. The Spaniard was left unmarked inside the box by the Odisha defenders, who met Rahul Bheke’s cross and slotted his header past the goalkeeper with ease.
Victor Mongil came close to scoring the equaliser but his header from a corner went off-target. Despite Odisha’s best efforts, Mumbai maintained their advantage heading into the half time break.
The second half began on a terrible note for Odisha as they conceded the second goal, this time through Bipin Singh.
The winger was fed by Ahmed Jahouh and managed to find the back of the net from an extremely tight angle. Bipin and Igor combined again at the stroke of the 70th minute to add a third goal.
Angulo weaved past a couple of defenders and calmly put his left-footed shot in the bottom right corner.
Then, Bipin Singh scored his second from close range barely two minutes later following brilliant work from Cassio Gabriel on the left flank who served the ball on a platter.
The Islanders were denied the clean sheet by Jonathas, who found the back of the net with a fine curling effort from long range four minutes before the final whistle.
Odisha face a struggling Chennaiyin FC in their next fixture in Vasco on Wednesday while Mumbai City clash with fellow top-four contenders Jamshedpur FC in Bambolim on Thursday. (PTI)