After a fabulous run in the 2015-16 Super Division season, Mumbai Strikers SC had to make do with a 4th place finish as they lost to Dena Bank in a thriller at the Cooperage Ground on the 18th of March. It took a shootout to decide the winner of this match as Mumbai Strikers made a late comeback after being 2-0 down.

It was the only match of the season played at the Cooperage ground and also the only chance for MS to come second runners-up. Dena Bank were in attack mode right from the beginning and so were Mumbai Strikers SC. Some adamant defending from both the teams kept the score 0-0 for quite some time in the first half. The referee pointed to the spot when a Dena defender made a lazy tackle on Ravish D in the penalty area. Ravish stepped up to score the shot himself, but shockingly slammed the upright and the ball was once again in play. Few minutes later, a counter attack from Dena Bank caught the MS defense napping. A perfect cross from one of the wingers found the Dena striker in the open who thumped the ball into the net making the score 1-0 in the first half. After much pep talk in the dressing room, MS stepped into the second half with a high morale. However, some great ground passing by Dena Bank allowed them to score the second midway into half-time. The Striker penetrated into the MS defense area and managed to take a crack at the goal which ended up at the second post. With a 2-0 lead, Dena Bank looked like they had sealed the deal. However, it was not how it seemed and Ravish D took the Dena defense to task and ran into the area on his own. After a few seconds of intense tussles, Ravish D saw a clear way through and let go one past the keeper into the bottom corner. The score was 2-1 and with few minutes remaining for full time, MS were not in a mood to give up. The second one came in no time after some flamboyant dribbling by Akshay D who set it up for Ravish once again. Ravish made up for the penalty miss as he kept MS in the hunt for the third place with the game going into a penalty shootout.

MS could not make it through from the penalty shootout as they went down 7-6 with Dena Bank securing third place. Coach Firmin D’souza expressed his disappointment on the defeat but was all praises for the quality and commitment displayed by the players throughout the season. Considering the team’s run in its first ever Super Division season, expectations are high for the next year.