New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) Mumbai City FC defender Mehtab Singh applauded his team’s all-round performance which saw them triumph 4-0 past Chennaiyin FC to earn a spot in the Kalinga Super Cup 2025 quarterfinals where they will take on I-League 2024-25 runners up Inter Kashi.

The Mumbai City defense has been staunch and solid this season, allowing only 28 goals past, whilst also keeping the second-most number of clean sheets in the league, but the side were not fluent in attack and scored only 29 goals through the campaign, which saw them finish sixth in the table.

In a conversation with IANS, the central defender acknowledged the importance of a strong defence in cup competitions whilst praising his team for their win against Chennaiyin.

“It helps the team a lot (having a strong defence). If we talk about the ISL, then we had the second-most clean sheets, so the defence is doing well. Unluckily, we have not been able to finish in front of the goal, but in the previous game, we scored the goals and defended well, so we want to continue this in the next game because it was an all-round performance on the pitch,” Mehtab told IANS.

Mumbai entered the 2024-25 campaign as the defending champions but an inconsistent showing through the year has left them with only opportunity to secure silverware. Mehtab added how a trophy and qualification for the ACL 2 Playoffs, through the Super Cup, gives the Islanders extra motivation to perform.

“Yes definitely (On if ending the season with a trophy adds more motivation in the squad) If we compare it to last year, because we fought for the shield and won the finals, then obviously we did not do that well this season so we want to finish strong so that we come back with happy vibes and can end the season with a trophy. The winner will also get the ACL2 Playoff spot, so that is also a good motivation,” he added.