Mahindra United’s first away fixture of the I-League campaign ended on a bright note as they came from behind to fashion an impressive 4-1 victory over promoted side Salgaocar Sports Club in a third round match played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao, here on Sunday.
The away side looked impressive for the most part, and passed the ball around quite well during the game. They were powered on by a hat-trick from Nigerian striker Muritala Ali, and by the end of it, had little problems in accumulating the maximum three points while recording their second straight win in the league.
Salgaocar, who did extremely well to share points with Dempo in their last match, didn't look out of the contest as such, and when it came to passing the ball and retaining possession, they looked extremely competitive. However, they were undone by the lack of a cutting edge in the final third.
Mahindra United, by virtue of the result, have moved into the third place in the league standings with seven points, behind league leaders Dempo Sports Club and JCT, who too have the same number of points, but enjoy a better goal difference. It just goes to show how close the league is getting at the moment, with at least 4-5 teams fighting for top spot.
In the match, Salgaocar took the lead which came slightly against the run of play, after a superb strike by Cajetan Fernandes. It seemed as if the Goans were going to cause another upset, but Mahindra United were quickly on level terms following an own goal by Salgaocar right-back Gurpreet Singh. The teams went into the break on even terms with the score tied at one goal apiece.
The visitors were the better side in the first half, and could have scored more, but despite keeping most of the possession and creating some good chances, Salgaocar held on. The second half saw the home side have some sustained spells of possession, however, it was Mahindra who upped their game to score.
Prolific goalscorer Muritala Ali made amends for his misses in the first half, by netting thrice after the change of ends to completely change the complexion of the match.
The scoreline might be just a little unfair on Salgaocar, who shouldn't be disheartened by the result, but Mahindra did seem to have that edge, class, and confidence about them to make sure that they went home with a win.
Source: Goal.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Monday 19 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.