A day before the match against Bengaluru FC, Mumbai FC head coach Santosh Kashyap had said his team has to win all their remaining nine fixtures of the current I-League season if they hope to achieve their pre-season target of finishing in the top three.
The match against Bengaluru FC marked the start of the second half of the season for Mumbai FC with their second straight goalless draw, after being held by Mohun Bagan on Wednesday.
Unlike the match against Mohun Bagan when Mumbai had the best chances, visitors Bengaluru seemed most likely to score on Saturday.
The best chances of the game fell to Bengaluru’s Daniel Lalhlimpuia and Sunil Chhetri in the second half.
Daniel was presented with a chance at an open net after Bengaluru substitute CK Vineeth collided with Mumbai goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani at the edge of the box. The keeper had rushed out to meet a long ball played into Vineeth’s path and the ball broke loose. Daniel ran onto the bouncing ball but could not keep his shot on target.
Later, Chhetri was played through on goal by Vineet and managed to slide a shot by Kattimani, only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Mumbai FC’s Afghani defender Djelaludin Sharityar.
{{/usCountry}}Later, Chhetri was played through on goal by Vineet and managed to slide a shot by Kattimani, only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Mumbai FC’s Afghani defender Djelaludin Sharityar.
{{/usCountry}}The shared point sees Mumbai FC stay at eighth position in the table with eight points from 10 matches. Bengaluru FC move up a spot into fourth position with 13 points from nine games.
After the match, Kashyap took to the stadium announcer’s microphone to personally address the Mumbai FC fans in the stands. He said he wanted Mumbai FC to win the match so he could celebrate with the fans but promised that the team would be celebrating a win with their supports very soon.