Mahindra, Salgaocar draw goalless

Mumbai challengers Mahindra United and former champions Salgaocar, Goa, played out a goalless draw in their fifth round National Football League match at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Monday.

Expectations were very high as both teams have abundant talent. However, they offered little to cheer about.

Mahindra have nine points from five matches while Salgaocar have eight.

Both sides kept managing to break into each other's sensitive territory but lacked the appetite for goals.

The first chance was from the home team, in the 12th minute, when a Jules Dias centre was missed by Austin Okola and the follow-up kick from Tapan Ghosh went one bounce to goalie Kalyan Chowebey.

The Goan team's custodian was in form, cutting out many high crosses and punching the flag-kicks out of danger.

Till 35th minute there was no effort on goal by Salgaocar, when suddenly Sheeraj Singh broke free only to be foiled by Mahindra keeper Virender Singh in the box.

Two minutes before the break, Bala Usman's curving kick would have plugged the tiny top cormer of the goal but Chowbey rose high to pluck the ball.

On resumption both the teams had their best chances. In the 72nd minute, Robert Fernandes essayed a through and Eugene Gray pounced on it to excute a low powerful kick. Virender was about to move towards his right when suddenly the ball dipped in the other direction. The Mahindra keeper did well to make a reflex save.

In the 81st minute, substitute Abhisek shot over the bar by several feet when he could have just tapped the ball in the goal after Chowbey had wrongly anticipated the move. That was perhaps the only blemish of the Salgaocar keeper.

The Goans injected fresh blood, bringing in veteran Bruno Coutinho for Climax Lawrence, while the Mumbai team pulled out the tired African duo of Okolo and Usman but the scoreboard remained blank.

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