Mumbai FC made it two wins out of two on Sunday, overcoming a one goal deficit to beat Churchill Brothers FC 2-1 at the Tilak Maidan in Goa on Sunday.
Brandon Fernandes gave Churchill Brothers the lead in the 3rd minute before Victorino Fernandes leveled things for Mumbai in the 34th. Mumbai scored a 92nd-minute winner through substitute Karan Sawhney who missed a penalty earlier in the second half.
Going into the match, the biggest change for Churchill was the introduction of Anthony Wolfe who led the Churchill attack with Brandon Fernandes dropping in just behind him in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
Santosh Kashyap's Mumbai meanwhile opted for a slightly more defensive 4-1-4-1 formation with the Mumbai side looking to continue from their 1-0 win over DSK Shivajians in the first match. Alfred Fernandes' Churchill made the best possible start when they opened the scoring in the third minute, with Pratik Chowdhury conceding a free-kick just outside the box after he brought down Churchill winger Clifford Miranda.
The foul proved to be costly as Brandon Fernandes curled a free-kick past Laxmikant Kattimani. The Goan midfielder took two short strides and managed to get the ball dipping low into the far corner. Trailing after just three minutes, Mumbai started growing into the game and they came close in the 11th minute when midfielder Siam Hangal let one loose from 30 yards out which hit the underside of the bar and went out of danger.
Santosh Kashyap replaced Farukh Choudhary with Nikhil Kadam in the 26th minute to offer more width and pace. That move paid off almost immediately, with Churchill's Rowilson Rodrigues failing to clear a loose ball that allowed Victorino Fernandes to slot in past keeper Priyant Singh in the 34th minute.
In the second half, Churchill tried to break the Mumbai defense through corners, but Santosh Kashyap's men did well to negate any threat. Both teams made substitutions midway through the second half with Anthony D'Souza replacing Clifford Miranda for the home side, while Mumbai skipper Steven Dias was taken off for Karan Sawhney. Churchill conceded a penalty in the 78th, but young Sawhney's weak effort was comfortably saved by Priyant diving on his right.
However, there was more to come from Sawhney. Thoi Singh managed to run down the right flank before picking out an unmarked Sawhney in the middle and the youngster found the net which gave Kashyap's team their second win in as many games.
The win takes Mumbai up to third, behind leaders Bengaluru FC and second-placed Mohun Bagan only on goal difference.