The windy conditions may have made life difficult for the players of both teams when it came to keeping control of the ball, but that didn't deter them from creating a number of opportunities on either side of the field.

Eventually it took the experience of Coutinho, who scored consistently in the recently concluded Karnatak Sporting Association tournaments, to give his side the edge. Coutinho picked up a ball, a couple of yards outside the rival box, in the 13th minute and then cut past a Mumbai FC defender before scoring with a close-range strike to bring cheer to the Customs camp.

The inexperienced Mumbai FC youngsters tried their best to get back into the match but it wasn't to be as Customs recorded their second win in five games. This, however, was the fifth straight loss for the Mumbai FC youngsters.

Earlier in the afternoon, the heroics of striker Reed Santosh, who scored four goals including a fine hat-trick, helped Companeroes SC record an emphatic 6-0 victory against a hapless Soccer XI in a Super Division match.