Pune, Dec 30 (IANS) Mumbai FC played out a goalless draw against defending champions Dempo SC in an I-League Round 13 encounter at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here Sunday.
Mumbai FC stayed fifth on the table with 20 points from 13 games while Dempo SC stayed on top with 29 points.
Coach Khalid Jamil made one change from the previous game with S. Kuttymani starting in place of injured Darren Caldeira.
Four minutes into the game, striker Yusif Yakubu missed a glorious chance to put Mumbai FC in the lead. His strike partner N.D. Opara set him up from the left and Yakubu fumbled with an open goal in front of him.
Midway through the first half, substitute Jayesh Rane – on for injured Kuttymani – set up Gabriel Fernandes on the right. The striker got into a great position but the visitors’ defence was alert to clear the danger.
A couple of minutes after the half-hour mark, Gabriel set up Opara with a flick on header but his shot was blocked by Debabrata Roy. A minute later, Dempo SC ‘keeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhury saved a long-range effort from medio James Singh.
The remainder of the half did not produce many chances and both teams went into the break tied goalless.
Five minutes after the restart, Yakubu put one past Subhashish into the opponent’s goal only to be flagged offside. The hosts had begun to dominate proceedings.
Midway through the half, Opara missed a great chance to open scoring. The striker controlled Abhishek Yadav’s long ball, but his stingless shot on the half-volley didn’t cause much problems for the ‘keeper. A minute later, Debabrata denied Yakubu a chance to strike with a timely interception.
Into the final quarter, Ashutosh Metha failed to find the target after getting into the clear on Yakubu’s through ball.
The game remained goalless at the final whistle with both sides getting a point each.
