Francisco Salin’s strike sees off RCF

by Kaushal Shukla April 28, 2015

Mumbai Customs eked out a narrow 1-0 win over Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) thanks to a solitary second half goal from Francisco Salin in an Elite Division game of the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) held at Cooperage on Sunday afternoon.

The opening half was a cagey affair as neither side to could conjure up a breakthrough. RCF came close a couple of times but failed to apply the finishing touches in a half which Mumbai Customs dominated in terms of possession.

The second half had a lot more flow to it as Mumbai Customs probed the RCF rear guard. Francisco Salin sneaked in behind the defence in the 58th minute to fire a shot on goal which was brilliantly kept out Narendra Singh. But the rebound fell kindly for Mathias Coutinho whose effort was blocked as RCF cleared the danger.

Four minutes later, Mumbai Customs again opened up the RCF backline with a beautifully threaded pass for Deepak Irmali who failed to score. Another chance went begging for Customs in the 64th minute later when Mathias Coutinho headed wide of the target from a Vaibhav Karpe cross.

Customs who kept the pressure on RCF finally got their reward in the 79th minute when Francisco Salin who was unmarked at the edge of the six yard box tapped in a pin point grounded cross from Mathias Coutinho who broke free on the left flank.

Customs had posed a goal threat throughout the second half and deservedly took the lead through their go-to man this season in Francisco Salin.

The goal left RCF deflated and it became tough for the Chembur outfit to shift gears after spending majority of the second half in their own half. On the other hand, the Customs forward found space to exploit in the RCF half as they went chasing the equalizer.

Francisco Salin broke clear of his marker in the final minute of regulation time and nearly got a second goal for himself and his side, but he failed to keep his effort on target as Mumbai Customs held on for a 1-0 win.