Mumbai City held Chennaiyin FC to a goalless draw on Sunday’s Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Both teams created some good chances over the course of the match but failed to find a goal when the referee blew the final whistle.
With one point from the game, Mumbai City join NorthEast United at the top of the table with four points from two games.
Within 30 seconds, Rafael Crivellaro fed Andre Schembri through on goal, but the Maltese striker could only toe the ball forward on the stretch which was blocked by Mumbai City goalkeeper Amrinder. The rebound fell for Rafael who saw his effort miraculously palmed over Amrinder’s outstretched arm and Chennaiyin were denied an early goal.
The home team looked full of attacking intent in that opening period, with Rafael pulling the strings. The Brazilian did exceedingly well to hold on to the ball in the 11th minute down the left wing, before rolling his marker and unleashing a vicious shot that flew just over.
Mumbai City, who were struggling to put together moves, were dealt a blow in the 24th minute when Modou Sougou went off injured with Serge Kevyn replacing him.
However, Mumbai started to grow into the game soon after and Amine Chermiti had two good chances to score but failed to convert any.
The Islanders finished the half well but found themselves under pressure at the restart as Chennaiyin showed some urgency. Several chances were created but the goal remained elusive.
John Gregory’s side had to change their plans after Rafael went down injured after a tough challenge from Souvik, which forced the Englishman to bring on Masih Saighani.
However, the home team continued to threaten on the counter but a combination of poor decision-making from them and last-gasp defending by Mumbai City kept the scores level.
Costa, who was also shown a yellow for his antics on the sidelines, was not happy with the result, but was content with the point.
“Unfortunately, the game finished 0-0. We had a good game and several chances to score. Chennaiyin also had chances to score. Unfortunately, for the fans, nobody scored. This game deserved more than 0-0. It was a second away game for us. But I am happy for the players. We fought and tried to play good. Two games, four points is not bad,” Mumbai head coach Jorge Costa was quoted as saying on the official website of ISL.
(With inputs from IANS)