Mumbai City FC looking for consistency and a win against Delhi Dynamos
Mumbai City FC will look for consistency and a steady performance from the team when they take on Delhi Dynamos FC in the sixth round of the inaugural Indian Super League game at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The team, owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and Chartered Accountant Bimal Parekh, have been playing some attractive football but haven’t been able to convert their supremacy on the ball into victories.
The hosts have six points to show from their five outings so far and the 1-0 victory they managed to grind out against Kerala Blasters on Sunday would have given them confidence that they can combine flair with resilience and still entertain the crowd.
The biggest area of concern for coach Peter Reid was the recovery of the players having played their last match only three days ago and barring any fitness concerns, Reid in all probability would like to field the same starting XI that maintained shape and focus through-out the 90 minutes against Kerala Blasters.
While the defence led by Czech Pavel Cmovs stuck to their guns under pressure, Frenchman Nicolas Anelka showed that he was finding his rhythm in the company of Brazilian born Andre Moritz as the duo created many scoring chances and had the team converted even half the opportunities the scoreline could have been hopelessly one-sided for the hosts.
With the legendary Alexander Del Piero leading the Delhi Dynamos attack, Reid and the team would be well aware that nothing short of a collective display of discipline would be needed to stop the Italian as a top-four spot beckons.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the match, Mumbai City FC captain Syed Rahim Nabi said, "We need to be consistent against Delhi Dynamos. We will have to defend as a unit especially since they have a player like (Alessandro) Del Piero in their line up."
The experienced Deepak Kumar Mondal said, "The coach made some changes in the last game in defence and they worked wonderfully well. Adapting to changes in such a short time isn't that easy but we need to follow instructions and do our best to win tomorrow."
Mumbai City FC, who have six points so far, are currently in the fifth spot in the overall standings and a win over the Dynamos would take them into the top half of the standings for the first time in the tournament.