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Mumbai City FC rode on a hat-trick by Bipin Singh and a brace by Bartholomew Ogbeche to decimate an ill-fated Odisha FC 6-1 in the 105th match of the 7th Indian Super League at the GMC Stadium in Goa today. This was the 11th win in 19 matches for the Mumbai team and they will take on table-toppers ATK Mohun Bagan in the 110th and last league match on February 28.
On the other hand, Odisha FC suffered their 12th defeat in 19 games and retained the last place in the league table with nine points. Odisha FC will play their 20th and last match against SC East Bengal February 27.
After Odisha had taken a shock early lead through Diego Mauricio in the ninth minute, Mumbai hit back hard through goals from Bartholomew Ogbeche (14th, 43rd), Bipin Singh (38th, 47th, 86th) and Cy Goddard (44th). The match was the highest-scoring game of the season and Mumbai had the biggest-winning margin yet. The timely return to form ended a three-game winless run for Mumbai City FC.
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Yet, when the match started, it appeared as if Mumbai would continue their wretched form. Early on, Odisha were awarded a penalty when Ahmed Jahouh fouled Mauricio in the box. The latter stepped up and ensured that Odisha had an unlikely lead, despite Amrinder getting a hand to the ball.
But Mumbai were not behind for long. Just five minutes later, Jahouh made amends for his mistake by finding Ogbeche off a freekick. The Nigerian made no mistake, heading it in and restoring parity.
Odisha put up quite a fight over the next 20 minutes as Mumbai struggled to convert their dominance into clear-cut chances. But once the goal came, the floodgates opened. The second goal for Mumbai had an element of luck to it. After a shot by Ogbeche was blocked, the ball fell kindly for Bipin, who made no mistake from his shot. Then, just five minutes later, Mumbai struck again, putting the result of the match beyond doubt. Jahouh and Ogbeche once again combined with the latter finding the striker off yet another freekick. Once again, the big Nigerian made no mistake, heading it in.
If Odisha interim coach Steven Dias had a tough half-time talk on his hands, it was about to get a lot worse. With just seconds to go before the half-time whistle, Goddard found the net with a peach of a goal. After receiving the ball on the right, the youngster cut inside and fired in a shot that gave Odisha keeper Arshdeep Singh no chance.
Just in case, Odisha had any hopes of a comeback, Mumbai were quick to snuff them out. Just two minutes after the restart, Bipin found the net again, Ogbeche turning provider this time. The goal prompted Lobera to give his main stars a break, with the likes of Adam Le Fondre and Mourtada Fall being subbed off. Ogbeche too joined them on the bench later. That took the edge off the game, but there was still time for Bipin to find his hattrick — the first of the season — with just minutes left for the final whistle.
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TOP: Diego Mauricio takes penalty kick to score for Odisha FC in their ISL match against against Mumbai City FC on 24 February, 2021.
RIGHT: Bipin Singh celebrates his third goal with teammates in their ISL match against Odisha FC on 24 February, 2021.
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