Kolkata, Nov 6 (IANS) Mohammedan Sporting got their I-League football campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Mumbai FC the round nine encounter at the Salt Lake Stadium here Wednesday.
A first-half penalty by striker Josimar Martins in the 35th minute proved to be the difference between the two sides.
With this loss, Mumbai dropped to tenth place with seventh points while the hosts moved to the seventh place with 10 points.
Mumbai FC coach Khalid Jamil made two changes to the team bringing in Manuel D’Souza and Haroon Amiri in place of Subhas Chakraborty and the suspended Ashutosh Mehta.
It was Mumbai FC who almost took the lead in the second minute as Mohammedan Sporting mid-fielder Sandeep Sangha almost scored an own goal while trying to clear Nicholas Rodrigues’ free-kick but an alert Ashok Singh tipped it over.
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The game then lost its pace as both sides failed to create a close chance. The hosts went close on a couple of occasions but Mumbai FC custodian Nidhin Lal kept them at bay.
The hosts were awarded a penalty in the second half when defender Ritesh Perambra handled the ball inside the box. Josimar converted from the spot to give the hosts the lead going into the break.
Mumbai almost equalised two minutes after the break but Afghan striker Sandjar Ahmadi’s shot agonisingly the crossbar from close range.
The hosts thereafter kept pressing and Josimar missed a few opportunities. On the other hand, Mumbai FC were restricted to few counter attacks. The hosts held on to their slender one-goal advantage to secure three points.
