MUMBAI — Troubles
mounted for former champions Mumbai City FC as they were held to a goalless
draw against East Bengal FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at the
Mumbai Football Arena here on Friday night. The Islanders played their seventh
draw of the season and are positioned sixth with 28 points from 18 matches, as
they were unable to find a breakthrough despite holding 62.4% of the possession
in this match.
This was East Bengal FC’s 100th match in the ISL and they
have now moved to 10th in the table with 18 points from as many games as a
consequence of this result.
East Bengal FC picked up pace earlier on in this encounter,
as their entire frontline functioned in tandem to slice open the Mumbai City FC
defence in the 14th minute.
Dimitrios Diamantakos drew bodies towards him down the
centre, before he sensed space in front of Naorem Mahesh Singh on the left
flank and laid a pass for him. Mahesh showed some quick footwork before
launching in a low cross for Nandhakumar Sekar on the far post. Nandhakumar
took a good first touch but his shot from an acute angle was thwarted by Phurba
Lachenpa in the bottom right corner.
Diamantakos was again in the centre of focus in the 44th
minute, as he missed hitting the target from a close distance facing the centre
of the goal. David Lalhlansanga pulled off a slick move at the right edge of
the 18-yard box, before playing a straight pass to Vishnu Puthiya. The latter
spared no time on the ball, crossing in admirably quickly to meet Diamantakos. The
striker, however, couldn’t adjust his position in time and instead ended up
heading it off target on the left side.
Two minutes later, as Mumbai City FC looked to regain their
lost shape, Diamantakos pressed high to recover the ball outside the box from
Jon Toral. He not only broke their process of building up the offence from the
back but launched a seething shot that rebounded off the left post, resulting
in the visitors’ closest opportunity thus far of finding the back of the net.
Vikram Partap Singh had a brilliant chance to break the
deadlock four minutes into the second essay of the game. Mumbai City FC
outnumbered East Bengal FC in the attacking third and Bipin Singh brought down
a cross from the left post for Vikram. The attacker couldn’t sort his feet
though as he lost his balance, missing to hit the goal from merely a couple of
yards away.
East Bengal FC, too, ended up striking wayward from such
close distances. Mahesh burst with a quick yard of pace on the left side of the
Mumbai City FC box but opted against charging into the 18-yard space. He
instead pulled off a lateral ball for Diamatankos, who rose high but struck the
left post, smashing the woodwork with the ball for the second time in this
match.
Jorge Ortiz had come on for Thaer Krouma in the 63rd minute
and he provided the Islanders arguably their two best opportunities to find the
back of the net, within a short interval in the 81st minute of the game.
First, he was picked by Yoell van Nieff in an open space
inside the box and Ortiz reacted promptly to aim for the centre of the goal,
which was saved by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. Immediately afterwards, Lallianzuala
Chhangte jumped on a loose ball to deliver it to Ortiz outside the box. The
Spaniard took another shot but Gill was well-placed to save it, enabling East
Bengal FC to earn a point from this fixture.
Mumbai City FC will play their next match against NorthEast
United FC on February 7 in Shillong while East Bengal FC are slated to return
to action at Chennaiyin FC on February 8.
