Plucky Mumbai FC hold Churchill in I-League clash

Mumbai FC rallied to hold defending champion Churchill Brothers to a 1-1 draw in a dull encounter to split points in the third round of the I-League, played at Nehru Stadium in Margao on Friday.

Churchill took the lead in the 26th minute through Reisangmi Vashum, which was neutralised by Abhishek Yadav in the 87th minute through a penalty.

Churchill, with two draws and a win, now have five points from three matches, while Mumbai FC oened their account from Saturday's draw after two defeats.

Churchill were a pale shadow of themselves in the absence of midfielder Khang Thang Paite, Kulu Ogabama and striker Odafe Okolie as they lacked the zeal to attack and score.

After a brief lull, Churchill went ahead in the 26th minute.

A quick build-up on the left saw Dan Ito relay a forward pass to Felix Chimaokwu who raced into the box, got the better of a defender and squared the ball to unmarked Reisangmi Vashum who found the back of the net.

Chimaokwu who lacked support upfront in the absence of Odafe, had a good chance to increase the lead at the stroke of half time after he intercepted a loose ball from defender Bernard Achaw.

But his weak attempt was put out by custodian Nindhinlal who was substituted 15 minutes before the end due to a muscle pull.

The Mumbai side, who relied on counter-moves, had a good chance to restore parity in the 35th minute when Kayne Vincent from the left sent in a cross which missed the target.

At the change of ends, the visitors created more openings and Pradeep Mohanraj had a couple of scoring chances but lacked direction.

Mumbai FC kept on pressing for the equalizer and restored parity through a penalty in the dying minutes to snatch a valuable point.

The penalty was awarded after Nascimento  Silveira brought down Abhishek Yadav inside the box. Yadav converted from the spot, striking to the left of goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.