Mumbai, February 18: Mumbai FC came up with another spirited performance to share honours with defending
champions Bengaluru FC in a closely fought 10th round I-League 2016-2017 match at the Cooperage ground, Mumbai on Saturday.Mumbai FC coach Santhosh Kashyap, stuck to the same combination which played against Mohun Bagan in the last game and the players produced another spirited performance.
The Mumbai coach was pleased with the perofrmance of his team. "I am satisfied with the outcome of the match. I would have been happy if we had won. But its alright, as we did well against two strong oppoenents, Mohun Bagan in the last game and today. We require to just score one goal and things will change i promise you," said Kashyap confidently.
Both sides showed positive approach and went on the offensive from the start. The match witnessed some neat build ups towards goals, but the home side held more of possession in the midfield early on and Mumbai club also had the first attempt at goal in the 18th minute. Following a counter-attack Reagan Singh from the right sent a screaming floater across the Bengaluru area and Farukh Choudhary sneaked past the defenders and headed downwards which bounced in front of goalkeeper Amrinder Singh who managed to block the attempt.
The Bengaluru side had their share of chances but were unable to find the net in the opening period. First, Udanta Singh, who had started in a withdrawn position on left but moved to right wing, combined well with Allwyn George to open up the Mumbai defence. But, the Mumbai goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani showed good reflexes to handle the situation. Later, the Mumbai side survived a close shave as Udanta set up Daniel Lalhlimpuia whose glancing header narrowly sailed over.
Late in the first half, Bengaluru goalkeeper Amrinder who sustained an injury was replaced by Arindam Bhattacharya.
In the second half, Mumbai somewhat surrendered the momentum to the visitors who had the better of the chances and were also denied a certain goal when Sunil Chhetri’s try late in the game was cleared from the line by Mumbai’s defender Afghan international Dielajudin Sharityar much to the relief of goalkeeper Kattimani and the rest of the team.
At the other end, the Mumbai attackers also had a couple of shots at the rival but without much success and had to settle for another draw and division of two points.
In the process, Mumbai FC have maintained their unbeaten record against the Bengaluru outfit on this ground.
Having played 10 games, Mumbai FC are currently in eighth spot with eight points earned from this goalless draw, while Bengaluru with 13 points from nine games have moved to fouth position.
Mumbai will now host Minerva Punjab in the 11th round on Sunday, February 26.
Results: Mumbai FC 0 drew with Bengaluru FC 0.