A late penalty from striker Adam le Fondre helped Mumbai City FC edge out FC Goa 1-0 at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday.
FC Goa — down to 10 men after Redeem Tlang was sent off in the 40th minute — looked set to escape with a draw, until disaster struck. Deep into injury time, midfielder Lenny Rodrigues tried to block a header inside the box, but made contact with the ball with his outstretched hand. Le Fondre stepped up and converted with a low, hard strike.
Earlier, Tlang was shown the red card for a rough tackle that caught Hernan Santana above the knee. With Tlang lunging in with his studs up, referee Rahul Kumar had no option but to take tough action.
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Despite being a man down, it was FC Goa which created the better chances. Skipper Edu Bedia’s powerful long-range effort forced a terrific save from MCFC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh.
MCFC, meanwhile, struggled to find rhythm. With the midfield subdued, le Fondre was barely called into action. The team’s best chance came in the 74th minute, but Mandar Rao Dessai shot over the crossbar from point-blank range after receiving the ball from le Fondre.
It seemed like MCFC would go a second game without scoring, until some poor play from Rodrigues, seconds before the final whistle, gave the side an escape route. The match, which saw MCFC head coach Sergio Lobera and many of his players take on their former club, was an ill-tempered affair. Six yellow cards were also shown.
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The result: MCFC 1 (Adam le Fondre 90+5) bt FC Goa 0 .