"Let's see what they propose. Perhaps, they might be defensive because they are playing against us but they have good players and we have to be ready”, it wasn’t clear if Bengaluru FC coach, Albert Roca was stating the obvious or simply playing mind games ahead of his side’s crunch encounter against Mumbai FC.
Clearly, Roca would have been surprised with the opposition’s approach. Not for one moment were Mumbai defensive. And not for one moment did Bengaluru have to be ready for an ambush.
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On the back of registering two comfortable wins, the reigning I-League champions were supposedly facing their toughest test yet this season. They were up against a team whose manager seems to be intent on playing a certain brand of football.
Mumbai’s coach, Santosh Kashyap firmly believes the oppositions are meant to be attacked, evident in the way his side have expressed themselves on the pitch in their first two games. Wednesday’s encounter was no different.
The game against Bengaluru
The fact that Bengaluru created a host of chances shouldn’t come as a surprise. For all their dominance in the opening two matches, the visitors were up against a side who had scored 5 goals in their previous 2 matches.
Mumbai began the night on a positive note. They hunted in packs and never let the home side settle on the ball. Bengaluru were coerced into passing the ball quickly.
That, coupled with Mumbai’s reluctance to sit back and absorb pressure- made for a very open game. As it turned out, it was too open for their own good. Bengaluru had no trouble whatsoever in slicing up their defence. The visitors committed numbers in attacks which left Pratik Chowdhary, Siam Hangal, Lalchhawnkima and Chinta Rao completely exposed at the back.
The home side opened the scoring courtesy a well worked out move from the right wing. The usual suspects, Udanta Singh and CK Vineeth combined in fine fashion and the latter had the goal staring at him from six yards out. There was no way he would miss from that position.
The second was a carbon copy of the opening goal. Harmanjot Khabra played assistant for Vineeth’s second, on a night when he went on to score a well-deserved hat-trick within the space of 20 minutes. But there was a reason why Mumbai ended the night without a goal to their name.
Like in their previous games, for all their expansive football, the visitors hardly tested keeper Amrinder Singh. Santosh Kashyap’s side didn’t have a plan B.
Mumbai played their way out of their own half pretty well. But when they approached the final third, the visitors lacked creativity and penetration.
Need for efficiency – a paramount
Against DSK and Churchill, the men in yellow got away being inefficient inside the opposition box. But the chances of them running their luck against Bengaluru were slim to none. Centre backs, Juan Antonio and John Johnson were never perturbed and won the ball with relative ease all night long.
If you had to pinpoint a reason for Mumbai’s incompetent display in the final third, there was one which clearly stood out- indecisiveness. Thoi Singh, Reagan Singh, Victorino Fernandes and Hitesh Sharma weren’t on the same page.
There were moments when youngster Hitesh Sharma found himself in promising positions but he didn’t have an outlet to release the ball to. As a result, the midfielder was displaced off the ball with relative ease.
The Mumbai FC players ran and ran hard in attack but they didn’t make the right runs. On the rare occasions that they did, the ball wasn’t released early enough. The home side found themselves with ample time to shape up their defence and win possession in the process.
It didn’t happen once but numerous times. And each time this transpired, it gave Bengaluru the opportunity to break on the counter. Wednesday’s performance highlighted the simple fact; a side not only requires intent to attack but also organisation.
After all, defenders aren’t the only players on the pitch who need to be organised. Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Johan Cruyff once said, “technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate”. Something that Mumbai coach, Santosh Kashyap will be keen to work on before their next game on Sunday.
