Bambolim: Jamshedpur FC defeated Mumbai FC 3-2 to occupy the third spot in the Indian Super League points table here on Thursday. Greg Stewart (ninth) gave Jamshedpur the lead and Ritwik Das (30th) took the lead with double the margin. In the second half, Rahul Bheke (57th) pulled back once for Mumbai before missing a penalty from Igor Angulo, but it didn’t matter as Diego Mauricio left the game at a knife-edge in the 86th minute . Stewart then converted a penalty into extra time to seal the issue.
Jamshedpur now have 28 points from 15 matches, being one of the leaders Hyderabad FC, but have one match to spare. Second-placed ATK Mohun Bagan are also tied with Jamshedpur on 29 points from 15 matches. Mumbai are fifth with 25 points from 16 matches. Jamshedpur started on the front foot and were rewarded nine minutes later. A brilliant piece of teamwork saw Jitendra Singh passing the ball to Boris Singh just outside the box, later relaying it to Ritwik Das, who flicked it back to an unmarked Greg Stewart. The Scottish attacking midfielder slammed home close to score three goals in two games as Owen Coyle’s team showed intent early.
Mumbai suffered another blow when midfield lynchpin Ahmed Jahouh had to be removed after being hit by a shoe. Vineet Rai took his place. Jamshedpur doubled their lead with a gap of half an hour. Rithvik was on target this time, tapping in the easiest finish and no one tracked him down after Daniel Cheema Chukwu sent him in a low cross from the edge of the byline.
In the second period, after Igor Angulo’s effort was saved by Rehenesh, Bhake halved the margin by making the most of the ball coming to his feet. Mumbai continued to put pressure on Jamshedpur and it paid off when Peter Hartley fouled Mortada Fall inside the area and the referee pointed to the spot. Angulo’s effort, however, was saved by Rehenesh, who showed a brilliant reflex and made another save.
Angulo was replaced by Diego Mauricio in the 89th minute and the Brazilian striker made an immediate impact when Hartley was fouled inside the box. Mauricio stepped up and centered the ball to make it 2-2. With four minutes remaining in the game, it was set for a thrilling end.
It was heartbreak for Mumbai in the end after Vignesh Dakshinamurthy was hit in the hand for the third penalty of the game. Stewart sent the keeper the wrong way to get Jamshedpur the much-awaited win and all three points.
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