Beleaguered Mumbai FC shared the spoils with visitors Chennai City FC at Cooperage on Sunday evening.
Head coach Oscar Bruzon threw in a team with a 4-2-3-1 formation which saw centre-back Pratik Chaudhary feature in the defence. Midfielder Thoi Singh returned on the flanks for the Mumbai outfit after recovering from a knee injury. Alex Willian Silva was sidelined on account of low match fitness and fellow Brazilian Anderson Raimundo took charge of the proceedings up front.
As for the visiting side, Denson Devadas replaced Zakeer Mundampara as the Kerala-born midfielder was suspended for the tie on account of collecting four yellow cards. Marcos Tank continued to be on the absentee's list and hadn't travelled to the metropolis city. The Southerners opted for a 4-4-1-1 shape on the pitch.
The first half was a fun-filled 45 minutes which saw hosts Mumbai FC dominating the Southerners. Striker Anderson Raimundo had trouble finishing off chances in the initial minutes of the match but the attacker later got back in action with his fellow attacking forces. Karan Sawhney, who was seen operating as a central attacking midfielder, had a great initial half as the former Bengaluru FC player often caused troubles for Chennai City’s Karanjit Singh.
In the 26th minute, Karanjit Singh fumbled between the sticks which led to Mumbai winning the ball. Karan Sawhney took advantage of the incident and took a shot at the goal. However, the delivery was a bit wide which saw it roll past the goalpost.
The visiting side had a below par display in the midfield as they failed to create enough chances. Also, during the glimpses of build-up in the middle of the park, a lack of clinical finishing meant they weren’t the first ones to register the goal.
In the 38th minute, Denson Devadas delivered a pass to Edwin Sydney Vanspaul for the latter to get a hit at the post but the midfielder was unlucky to slip within the box. A dejected Edwin held his head in shame as that was the closest V Soundararajan’s side had gotten to the goal.
With moments from the half-time, Faroukh Choudhary created magical chances for the hosts. First, he stormed towards the goal and shot at goalkeeper Karanjit. However, the attacker denied any chance as an alert Karanjit cleared the danger firmly.
Later, the 20-year-old decided to trouble Karanjit again but the safe hands of Karanjit kept the visitors alive in the game as he jumped as far as possible to save the delivery.
The two teams entered the tunnel at the half time whistle on a 0-0 scoreline in what was an improved first half performance from the Mumbaikars.
The second half was a littered with errors as the two teams fumbled several chances on either ends. This time, the visiting side were the dominant contestants of the hour as the duo of Soosai Raj and Charles de Souza troubled the defensive forces of Mumbai.
In the 72nd minute, Chennai’s attacker Charles made a brilliant run but his eventual shot struck the post as the ball was swayed away from danger.
However V Soundararajan’s side was fortunate to not trail by a goal in the dying moments of the fixture when substitute Victorino Fernandes fumbled a glorious chance in the opposition box. Alex Willian, inside the box, laid it out on a plate to Victorino but he failed to finish a simple tap in. This was the best chance for the home side to grab full points from the clash which they predictably wasted.
Chennai didn’t give up until the end and Soosai Raj had a chance of his own at the death. However, his delivery unfortunately hit the bar which came to Mumbai's rescue yet again and that signalled the end of the game.
The result meant that this was the fifth straight draw on home soil for the Mumbaikars who are dangerously close to being relegated with two games remaining.