Clinical strikes from Defederico, Vadocz hand maiden play-off spot to Mumbai City FC
Mumbai City FC broke the group stage curse as goals from Matias Defederico and Krisztian Vadocz led them to a 2-0 victory over Chennaiyin FC at the Mumbai Football Arena and took the Ranbir Kapoor-owned side to their first play-offs on Wednesday.
Sunil Chhetri might not have opened his account this season but that didn’t stop him from orchestrating a brilliant move which gave the lead to the home team in the 32nd minute. The Indian captain raced into the box by playing a lovely one- two with with Vadocz and then squared the ball to Defederico who slammed it into the back of the net.
Chennaiyin tried their luck with a few long rangers but custodian Amrinder Singh, who is still unbeaten in this season, nullified the danger.
Fresh from a hat-trick in the last match, Diego Forlan could have doubled the score for the hosts but for Chennayin goal keeper Karanjit Singh who dived to his left to parry away the Uruguayan's free-kick in the 44th minute mark.
Chennaiyin came out all guns blazing in the second half but lack of prowess in the attacking third proved detrimental to their chances of securing a draw if not a win. Soon Mumbai put the game beyond their opponents as Hungarian midfielder Vadocz, left free by his marker Hans Mulder, volleyed home from the edge of the box to give a 2-0 lead to the table toppers in the 60th minute.
Chhetri and Brazilian forward Thiago Dos Santos Cunha should have increased the goal count for the hosts but both of them failed to find the back of the net in the latter stages of the match with Karanjit all at mercy. Mumbai sit pretty on top of the table with 22 points while this loss not only pushed Chennaiyin down to the seventh spot but also worsened their goal difference (-4) which may come in handy with a lot teams separated by just one point at the bottom of the chart.
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