Super Cup 2025: Chhangte winner helps Mumbai City beat Inter Kashi 1-0, enters semifinals
Super Cup 2025: Chhangte winner helps Mumbai City beat Inter Kashi 1-0, enters semifinals
A second-half strike from Lallianzuala Chhangte was enough for Mumbai City FC to edge Inter Kashi 1-0 in their Super Cup 2025 quarterfinal clash at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.
The Islanders dug deep in a game of few chances while showcasing their ability to dominate the ball under the scorching sun to dash the Varanasi-based side’s hopes of causing another upset in the competition.
Unlike its previous match against Bengaluru FC, Kashi did not start well off the blocks and could not win the ball from MCFC, which enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.
On the other hand, with regulars Tiri and Sahil Panwar unavailable due to injury, MCFC head coach Petr Kratky fielded a five-man defence with Vikram Partap Singh and Noufal P.N. filling in as fullbacks.
The duo, every so often, made darting runs into the final third, providing width, while also churning in crosses into the box. However, the Kashi defence made full use of their height advantage and managed to win the ball ahead of MCFC forward Nikolaos Karelis.
With almost half an hour of the match played, the most unexpected burst of action came from a swarm of bees that tormented the linesman and a couple of players on the far side, prompting the match to be halted for almost 15 minutes in the first half.
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When the play resumed, the Islanders were dealt a blow late in the first half, with Nathan Rodrigues being stretchered off the field after suffering an injury while contesting for the ball in his box.
Capitalising on the change at the back, Kashi ended the first period strongly, with Mario Barco flashing his shot from outside the box wide moments before setting up Nikola Stojanović inside the box. The Serbian, however, could not keep his shot under the bar.
MCFC began the second half on a much-improved note, with Noufal pacing down the right to meet a long ball before finding Jorge Ortiz inside the box. Kashi’s goalkeeper, Shubham Dhas, who had an uneventful first half, was called into action and positioned himself well to block Ortiz’s attempt.
MCFC kept its foot on the pedal and almost scored the opener in the 53rd minute with Mehtab Singh striking the crossbar with his header before Karelis scuffed the rebound attempt.
The constant pressure finally paid off in the 71st minute with Chhangte bagging his third goal of the competition from close range.
Ortiz drove the ball into the final third before laying it off to Noufal, whose cross into the middle was cleared only as far as Ortiz, who made his way into the box. After the Spaniard had a couple of shots blocked in front of the goal, the ball fell to the MCFC captain, who made no mistake of burying it into the back of the net.
Despite making changes, Kashi never really got back into the game as MCFC dominated proceedings by passing the ball around to tick away the minutes and securing the semifinal spot.
Published on Apr 27, 2025
