Mumbai City look to fix leaky defence
MUMBAI: For Mumbai City, life under Jorge Costa has got off to a mixed start, beginning with a loss to Jamshedpur at home and followed by a reassuring draw away to Kerala Blasters.
And on Friday awaits arguably their toughest test when they host FC Pune City, who have made a habit of walking away with full points from their neighbour’s den. Mumbai have lost three consecutive home matches against Pune and are also winless in the last three meetings between the two.
In fact, the Islanders have suffered a joint record number of losses, five games lost from their eight meetings, against Pune and Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League so far.
Another major concern for Mumbai has been a leaky defence. They have conceded three goals in two games so far and barring skipper Lucian Goian, their backline has lacked conviction.
Left-back Subhasish Bose though could offer some relief, coming off a successful outing with the national team after India held China to a goalless draw. Bose, who played the full game in China less than a week ago, will be exuding confidence and Costa will hope that it can rub on to his teammates.
“The results were not what we wanted, especially in the first game at home. But we are working well and I have the same confidence in the team. I’m hoping we can do better tomorrow and hopefully, we can get three points,” Costa observed before his first Maharashtra derby.
Like Mumbai, Pune also saw a change in manager and are coached by former Delhi Dynamos coach Miguel Angel Portugal. But unlike Mumbai, Pune have played just one game so far, where they managed to steal a point against Delhi.
“I know that they (Mumbai) lost their first match here against Jamshedpur but against Kerala Blasters, Mumbai played well. Against Jamshedpur, they played well in the first half,” Portugal commented of his opponents form.
“But I know Mumbai well. Goian is good and reliable in defence. In the middle they have (Paulo) Machado and (Rafael) Bastos who control the game. On top they have good speed and are very dangerous when the ball is moving quickly. But I also know what their problems are. We’ll try to use that and win,” revealed the Spaniard.
The possible return of Brazilian winger Marcelinho, who will join Emiliano Alfaro in attack — the pair scoring 17 of Pune’s 31 goals last season — will only add to Mumbai’s concerns.
Mumbai defender Davinder Singh has suffered a ligament injury and is ruled out for the rest of the season with 27-year-old Joyner Lourenco named as the replacement.