Shivajians thrash Mumbai FC 5-0 in I-League

DSK Shivajians scored five goals in a big win against Mumbai FC in the Hero I-League football match here on Saturday.

Holicharan Narzary's (18th and 30th minute) two first-half strikes put the hosts in the driving seat and an improved second-half display saw Sanju Pradhan (48th minute), Jerry Mawihmingthanga (83rd) and Lallianzuala Chhangte (67th) register their names on the scoresheet to register

their biggest victory this season.

The Maharashtra derby started off in a pretty unusual manner, with both sets of players displaying little control and precision when circulating the ball due to which gaps began to appear all over the park.

The hosts, in particular, seemed to make the most of the opportunities presented, testing Mumbai's goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani time and again.

On a similar occasion, Holicharan Narzary found himself with space and time to measure a volley past the Mumbai goalkeeper to give the hosts an early lead inside 15 minutes.

In the aftermath of the opener, Santosh Kashyap reacted quickly and made a substitution, replacing Clyde Fernandes for the experienced Steven Dias, in an attempt to get back into the match.

As the game approached the half hour mark, Sanju Pradhan and Juan Quero combined well down the right, to set up Narzary for his second goal of the match.

As the first half of the match ended, Shivajians seemed to have a firm grip on the game with a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, the away side, Mumbai had to forget and start afresh if there was to be a fightback in their bid for survival.

Matters went from bad to worse for Santosh Kashyap's side, when the home team scored their third goal just three minutes into the second-45.

Pradhan found the back of the net to give his team a crucial lead.

Lallianzuala Chhangte then scored in the 67th minute, collecting the ball from the halfway line - scoring against the run of play with a delicate finish past Kattimani's right to make it 4-0 for the hosts.

After that Jerry Mawihmingthanga made good use of his pace to take full advantage of the space behind Mumbai's defence and scored the fifth goal of the match in 83 minutes.

With the game approaching the final moments, Mumbai trailed their rivals 5-0. Santosh Kashyap's side faced trouble in every department, lacking the resources to answer positively under pressure yet again.

--IANS

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