Mumbai City FC hopes for another Moritz show

October 24, 2014 04:05 am | Updated May 23, 2016 06:53 pm IST - Mumbai

Andre Moritz is a far cry from the likes of the legendary Pele or Neymar, but the Santa-Catarina born Brazilian turned out to be a big hit among local fans scoring three goals in the Hero Indian Super League’s ‘Maharashtra Derby’ between Mumbai City FC and FC Pune City.

Supporters of the Ranbir Kapoor-owned local club now look forward to another virtuoso display from the Brazilian against NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) at the D.Y. Patil Sports Academy ground here on Friday.

Last Saturday a goodly crowd went gung-ho when the 28-year-old, 1.87 metre tall striker rushed towards the stands and regaled them with celebratory jigs after getting the better of the man under the bar three times.

Trounced 3-0 by Atletico de Kolkata in the inaugural match, Mumbai City straddling on Moritz’s hat-trick scored a thumping 5-0 win against FC Pune. Clearly the roll of the ball and bounce on natural grass favoured its style of play as against the artificial surface at the Salt Lake.

On loan from South Korean club Pohang Steelers, Moritz showed all the talent he had honed over a period of 10 years on the football fields in Brazil, Turkey, Scotland and England. His hat-trick got him nearer to the 50-goal mark in professional leagues.

Forwards Singam Subhash Singh, Nadong Bhutia, mid-fielder Lalrindika Ralte, defender Peter Costa and goalkeeper Subrata Paul played their part on a day when their backline hardly came under pressure.

Not complacent French striker Nicolas Anelka will not be available for Peter Reid’s team till the match against Chennayin FC, but the veteran English coach said Sweden’s Freddie Ljunberg had recovered from a calf-related injury and was ready to take charge of the mid-field.

After a training session on Monday, Reid said: “We have to be wary of NorthEast United. I have played against a few of Ricki’s teams when I was coaching Thailand and I know that his teams are very tough to beat. He sets his teams up to play a competitive brand of football. Therefore, I am not going to be complacent about this tie. My focus is on my boys and our strategies.”

While Mumbai City would look upon Mortiz to make his lethal left foot work wonders, the visiting coach Ricki Herbert feels there is only one way a game of football can be played: attacking style.

NEUFC has played three matches against Kerala Blasters, Kolkata and FC Goa and has scored two goals in all through Spanish forward Sergio Contreras Pardo (Koke). The visitors beat Blasters 1-0, lost to Kolkata 0-2 and drew with Goa 1-1, and, in the circumstances, would like to find the back of the net many times and win the big points.

It will be the Guwahati-based side’s first away match in four.

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