I-League: Round 3 Review – Bengaluru FC lead both on and off the pitch

Result of the round

Churchill Brothers 0-2 Mumbai FC

Mumbai FC are still unbeaten

Khalid Jamil is currently in his fifth season as Mumbai FC head coach and that stability has been instrumental in the Mumbai club’s unbeaten start in this campaign. The former India international has also made some shrewd additions to the squad with two of them getting on the scoresheet in an impressive 2-0 away win over I-League holders Churchill Brothers.

Mumbai FC are not pleasing on the eye but have always been very well organised under Jamil and they seemed to have further improved in that department this season. In the previous campaigns under the coaching of the former India midfielder, the Mumbai club has drawn a lot games but the signings of experienced players like Climax Lawrence, Anwar Ali and Valeriano Rebello could convert many of those draws into wins this term.

The experience of that trio and Afghanistan captain Zohib Islam Amiri played a key role in their win over Churchill Brothers. If Orok Essien, who scored the opener, newly signed Afghan striker Sandjar Ahmadi and veteran Yusif Yakubu can be prolific this Mumbai team could even challenge for a top four place.

As for Churchill Brothers, this game once again exposed their weaknesses. The Goan club look a much weaker squad compared to last season especially in attack and also lack match winners. They are overdependent on Gabon striker Henri Antchouet and since he had another bad day, the forward line looked toothless against a stubborn Mumbai FC defence. Things could have been different had Antchouet converted his spot kick but overall there are plenty of concerns for the legendary Sukhwinder Singh and if it’s not sorted any time soon, the Red Machines could be out of title contention even before the midway point of the season.