Steven Dias curled in a direct free-kick in the first half while Min-Chol Son nodded in the second goal late in the second half. Mumbai FC, lifted by these two goals, beat a spirited Shillong Lajong 2-1 in an I-League 15th round match and took firm steps away from relegation.
Fabio Pena converted a penalty-kick for the visitors.
MFC moved up from the bottom in the nine-team league to seventh place (16 points from 15 games).
Games in hand Shillong went down fighting to remain on 15 points after 15 matches and slipped to bottom, though it has a game in hand against East Bengal.
The home team also has a home match against DSK Shivajians remaining.
The Shillong defence, under pressure in the first half, conceded a free-kick when Eric Brown was brought down.
Dias stepped up and curled the ball over the wall and into the left corner, with the goalkeeper beaten by the angle of the suddenly dipping ball.
Fabio’s equaliser in the 56th minute lifted the visitors’ hopes, before MFC’s desperate efforts for the match-winner paid off.
The result: Mumbai FC 2 (Dias 42, Son 87) bt Shillong Lajong 1 (Fabio 56).
