Sangram Mukherjee's two outstanding saves to deny Yakubu Yusif on either side of lemon time helped Mohun Bagan hold inspired Mahindra United to a goalless draw in their concluding I-League match at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Saturday.
The tied result however prevented the jeepmen from overhauling the famed Kolkata outfit who finished fourth with 30 points, three behind JCT; the 'red devils' had to content themselves with fifth position on 28 points.
Obviously, it was a disappointing ending for both teams who harboured title aspiration and were marginally in the running towards the closing stages of the tournament.
The rivals both started on a bright note and dished out quality fare with both midfields linking well with their respective attacks. For Mohun Bagan it was Dharamjit and newcomer Rahul Kumar who stood out while the gifted Ivory Coast import Douhou Pierre and the fast improving Sukhvinder Singh gave Mahindras a distinct edge in the midfield manoevring.
However, the defences stood tall today with Baichung Bhutia being tightly policed by Bello Rasaq and Yakubu too being shackled by Peter Odafe at the other end.
As a result, the game petered out in the second half as a visual spectacle with goal scoring chances coming at the heavy premium.
While man-of-the-match Mukherjee saved the day for the maroon & green outfit, his counterpart Sandip Nandy too contributed to Mahindra keeping a clear slate by acrobatically tipping over a Bhutia header off a Dharamjit cross in the 19th minute.
Mohun Bagan coach, the genial Carlos Roberto Pereira, ascribed his side's fade out in the second half to lack of motivation as the title had already slipped out of the grasp. However, the same reason did not hamper Derrick Pereira's side from giving it their best shot.
Still, the jeepmen lacked that something extra that could have helped them deliver the knock out punch. Not only today, but in the entire I-League as well.