MPL: Mohd Khatib’s injury time equalizer rescues a point for MH Oranje FC against Mumbai City FC; ICL edge Kenkre

by Chittu Shetty March 3, 2025

In a 4-goal encounter, MH Oranje FC and Mumbai City FC played out a dramatic draw, with Mohd Khatib stealing the spotlight in stoppage time with a injury time equalizer to salvage a crucial point.

Mumbai City FC started the match on the front foot, pressing aggressively in search of an early breakthrough. Their persistence paid off in the 17th minute when Omkar Talkar intercepted a pass in midfield, drove forward into the final third, and threaded a perfectly weighted ball to Mangthelal, who made no mistake in slotting home the opener.

As halftime approached, MH Oranje FC began to find their rhythm, pushing forward with urgency. They nearly found the equalizer through Shane, who timed his run well to beat the offside trap, but his finish let him down, and the chance went down.

Trailing by a goal, MH Oranje FC made three key substitutions at the break, bringing on Pratham Ghatnur, Nitesh Monde, and Kuvaio—a move that would soon change the course of the game.

Right from the restart, Pratham Ghatnur became a livewire in attack, creating three clear-cut chances. He missed two, but in the 57th minute, he finally made one count. A well-placed lob over Mumbai City’s defense found Ghatnur, who showed composure to slot the ball through the keeper’s legs and level the score at 1-1.

However, Oranje’s missed opportunities proved costly. Kunal Raghav intercepted a pass deep in his own half and sent in brilliant ball across the field for Mihir, who found himself in space at the edge of the Oranje penalty box. With a deft touch, Mihir beat the onrushing goalkeeper before calmly placing the ball into an empty net, restoring Mumbai City’s lead.

Despite falling behind again, MH Oranje FC refused to back down. Dhanesh’s curling cross nearly found the net, only to be denied by the woodwork.

Just when it seemed Mumbai City FC would hold on, a final push in stoppage time turned the game on its head. In the 90+4th minute, Nitesh Monde played a precise through ball to Substitute Mohd Khatib at the edge of the box, and the forward made no mistake, expertly placing his shot into the far post to ensure MH Oranje FC walked away with a point.

With this result, Both the Team would be disappointed as both registered their 3rd draw of the Playoff-Round. City with 3 draw & 1 loss while MH Oranje with 3 draw and 1 win.

FT: Mumbai City FC (M Haokip 18′, Mihir 64′) 2-2 MH Oranje FC (P Ghatnur 57′, M Khatib 90+4′)

Meanwhile in other game of the day, ICL Mumbai came back from a goal down to beat Kenkre FC 2-1. in -form striker T Zimik put Kenkre ahead in the 28th minute of the game before Zeeshan Akhtar equalized minutes after the hour mark for ICL Mumbai.

Few minutes later Aayush Kumar’s stunned everyone with a brilliant shot from outside the box. The ball curled massively getting into the far post corner to make it 2-1 and put ICL Mumbai in front. The win puts ICL at the 3rd spot in the table after four games.

FT: ICL Mumbai FC (Zeeshan Akhtar 67′, Aayush Kumar 73′) 2-1 Kenkre FC (T Zimik 28′)

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