The
Islanders ran out comfortable 4-0 winners against a struggling Delhi Dynamos
unit at the Mumbai Football Arena. A brace from Everton Santos and goals from
Lucian Goian & Balwant Singh helped us move to the 2nd position
with 13 points from 8 games.
It was an
energetic start from the visitors as they saw most of the possession in the
earlier stages of the game. Gerson Vieira had the first real chance of the game
as he rose high to head the ball but it went straight into the hands of former
Mumbai City FC goalkeeper, Arnab Das Sharma. The Islanders opened up the Delhi
Dynamos defence with some sublime passes as Balwant Singh played Everton Santos
with a neat through ball & he was bought down by Arnab in the box, the
referee didn’t hesitate & pointed to the spot. Achille Emana took the spot
kick & sent Arnab to the left but his shot hit the right post of the
keeper. Captain Lucian Goian was alert to the situation & slotted the ball
to open the scoring for the Islanders.
The game did
heat up when Thiago Santos was fouled by Vinit Rai & Emana had his share of
words for the Delhi midfielder. The Cameroonian International was involved
again, this time playing a smart short pass to Everton Santos who saw his shot
blocked by the defender. The visitors had their chance to equalize as Romeo
Fernandes latched on & took a shot that hit the side netting. Arindam
Bhattacharja was yet to be tested in goal, he was named in the line-up as a replacement
for the injured Amrinder Singh.
At the other
end, Balwant combined well with Everton Santos to set him free on the left
inside the box but the return ball was weak & Arnab collected it with ease.
The game opened up as Nandhakumar Sekar saw his shot fizz wide off the post.
Both sides missed chances in less than a span of 3 minutes.
Matias
Mirabaje came close to an equalizer for Delhi as Ruidas’ clearance fell to him
on the edge of the box & his volley struck the post. Brazilian winger,
Everton Santos tried his luck from distance as his shot bounced uncomfortably
in front of the keeper who made a decent save to deny him. Delhi won a
free-kick in a promising position but Matias failed to beat the wall &
Delhi were unable to equalize.
The
Islanders made them pay for the missed chances as Everton Santos beat his
marker & thumped a header home to double the lead as well as the misery on
Delhi. It was the perfect delivery from the set-piece by Achille Emana. The
visitors had their chances just before the break with 3 shots in quick
succession but they didn’t change the scoreline.
There was
drama at the stroke of half-time when Sehnaj Singh & Matias Mirabaje were
sent off by the referee for their on-field tussle. Both the players had to be
separated by the players, the teams were reduced down to 10 men.
Delhi
Dynamos had another ideal opportunity to score from a free header in the box
but Guyon Fernandez missed to put the ball into an empty net. In the 49th
minute, Everton Santos notched his second goal from a Ruidas corner as his
header hit the post & bounced over the line. Although, the keeper pushed it
out, Thiago Santos was there to finish it off but the goal was awarded to
Everton Santos.
With both
teams down to 10 men, both teams made a few changes with fresh legs helping the
cause. Delhi surely rued their chances to get back into the game, Romeo
Fernandes took a shot inside the box from the right but it went just wide off
the far post. An hour gone by & the visitors were trailing by three goals.
General, Alexandre Guimaraes brought on Marcio Rozario & Sahil Tavora for
Thiago Santos & Sanju Pradhan with both of them doing well with their
opportunities.
Hitman,
Balwant Singh joined the goal-scoring charts in the 79th minute as
he made good movement to reach a lovely chip pass from the impressive Emana, he
didn’t connect his volley well but it just about went into the net. It was his
first goal at home & fifth of this season, he also became the top Indian
goal scorer by going past Jeje. Leo Costa made his much awaited return from
injury as he replaced Emana who once again shone with two assists to his name.
Arindam was determined to get a clean sheet, he made a fantastic save to keep Romeo’s shot away & not let Delhi get a consolation goal. The final minutes saw the Islanders keep possession of the ball & see off the game & round off a very dominating performance in front of the home crowd. At one end, the misery continued for Delhi Dynamos as they slumped to their 6th consecutive defeat & the Islanders moved to the 2nd spot in the table with a thumping win to end the year on a high.
A tough battle awaits the Islanders on 5th January, 2018 as they make a journey to the East to take on Jamshedpur FC in their own backyard.
