I-League 2015/16 – Salgaocar extend Mumbai's winless run to seven games

ByAmlan Majumdar, SportsCafe Editor

03/05/2016

Mumbai played out their third 2-2 draw in a row, at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Goa, as Khalid Jamil's men had to rely on two penalties, on either side of the halftime whistle, to get a point against a lowly Salgaocar side. Ryuki Kozawa scored the equalizing goal for Mumbai to earn them a point.

Salgaocar FC XI: Karanjit (gk)(c), Alesh, Scott, Saran, Keenan, Jackichand, Reagan, Leny, T.Haokip, Mbarga, Eder

Mumbai FC XI: Pawan (gk), Hitesh, Brown (c), Pratik, Ashutosh, Anwar, Jayesh, Sushil, Kozawa, Shilton, Miranda

Mumbai manager Khalid Jamil made four changes to the side which was held to a 2-2 draw against Aizawl, which extended their winless run to six matches. Clyde Fernandes, Darren Caldeira, Cletus Paul and Sanjiban Ghosh were replaced by Shilton D'Silva, Sushil Singh, Pawan Kumar and Hitesh Sharma.

The Goan side came into this game on the back of an impressive 3-1 win over East Bengal at home, which lifted them off the bottom of the table. However, Santosh Kashyap had to make two changes to that side with Jackichand Singh replacing the injured Darryl Duffy, and Lenny Pereira coming in for Augustin Fernandes.

The home side made a good start to the match with Mbarga and Jackichand putting a good performance in the attack. Eventually, they took the lead in the 23rd minute, and it arrived from a mistake at the back from Mumbai. Pratik and Anwar failed to clear a long ball from the back, and it reached Jackichand at the far post. The diminutive winger showed tremendous technique to volley the ball into the top corner, from a tight angle to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Mumbai did not have to wait long for an equalizer, though, as in the 38th minute Reagan Singh brought down Sushil Singh inside the box after the forward received a lovely chipped pass from Hitesh Sharma. The Manipuri striker stepped up to take the resultant spot-kick and blasted it past Karanjit Singh in the Salgaocar goal.

However, the Goan side took back the lead four minutes after the start of the second half, and once again it came through a blunder in the defence. This time, it was the goalkeeper Pawan Kumar, who was caught out by an attempted cross from the left wing by Brian Mascarenhas. The ball floated into the far post of the net, as the goalkeeper failed to keep it out, despite getting a hand to it.

Mumbai were awarded a lifeline in the 62nd minute when the referee awarded them a penalty after Karanjit made a save from a corner. The official mistook the save for a handball from a Salgaocar defender on the line, and chaos ensued on the pitch. Karanjit led Salgaocar's protest and he was lucky to have escaped a booking despite pushing the referee twice.

Ryuki Kozawa took the penalty and calmly slotted the ball past a helpless Karanjit, much to the frustration of the Salgaocar keeper.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw, which was Mumbai's third in a row, as they continue to drop points after a promising start to the season.