Mumbai FC were unlucky as they went down 1-0 to Mohammedan SC in an I-League Round-9 encounter at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.
A first-half penalty by striker Josimar Martins in the 35th minute proved to be the difference between the two sides.
With this loss Mumbai FC dropped to tenth place with 7 points while the hosts rise up to seventh place with 10 points.
Coach Khalid Jamil made two changes to the team bringing in Manuel D’Souza and Haroon Amiri in place of Subhas Chakraborty and the suspended Ashutosh Mehta.
It was Mumbai FC who almost took the lead in the second minute. Mohammedan midfielder Sandeep Sangha almost scored an own goal while trying to clear Nicholas Rodrigues’ freekick ; however an alert Ashok Singh tipped over.
The game then lost it’s pace as both sides failed to create a close chance. The hosts went close on a couple of occasions but Mumbai FC custodian Nidhin Lal kept them at bay.
The hosts were awarded a penalty five minutes past the half-hour mark, when defender Ritesh Perambra handled inside the box. Josimar converted from the spot to give Mohammedan the lead going into the break.
Mumbai FC almost equalised two minutes after the break. Striker Sandjar Ahmadi’s shot agonisingly the crossbar from close range.
The hosts thereafter kept pressing and had Josimar miss a few opportunities. On the other hand, Mumbai FC were restricted to few counter attacks.
The hosts held on to their slender one-goal advantage to secure three points.