ROYAL WAHINGDOH SETTLES A DRAW WITH FEISTY MUMBAI FC

SHILLONG: A feisty Mumbai FC were able to hold Royal Wahingdoh FC to a 1-1 draw on the latter’s home turf here on Sunday.

The visitors opened the scoring in the 23rd minute through a Josimar header which silenced the 13,000-plus crowd, while Kim Song Yong responded with a header of his own in the second half to secure one point for Wahingdoh.

The Royals did not look as smooth in their style of play and although they had the majority of the possession throughout the game, they were unable to break down the Mumbai defence for the most part.

MFC were able to script a few early opportunities but could not execute effectively, with Josimar operating alone up at front.

In the first 20 minutes the hosts had a couple of chances, with Kim’s shot on goal in the ninth minute going wide as he was slightly off balance and Jackichand Singh’s attempt 10 minutes later just going over the bar.

Shots over the crossbar were a feature of this game, with Wahingdoh responsible for more than their fair share.

Mumbai opened the scoring after earning a throw-in on the right, which led to a cross for Josimar in the box. The tall Brazilian had absolutely no trouble in executing, putting his team into the lead.

For around five minutes after the half-hour mark RWFC pushed the visitors back, but each of their four attacks came to nothing, either because of excellent defence or wayward shot taking.

It was more of the same in the last five minutes of play with Bekay Bawar and Jacki shooting over the bar and straight to the keeper, respectively.

The second session started with the hosts looking for that equaliser and Kim came to the rescue in the 59th minute, getting the better of his mark in the jump and leading to his header beating Mumbai keeper Nidhin Lal.

Mumbai were not lying down either, and an attack by them two minutes later needed Wahingdoh goalkeeper Nikhil Bernard pulling off a tremendous save. He was called on again in the 67th minute to make a spectacular save after the visitors had won another corner.

Furious attacking action from Royal Wahingdoh saw their opponents defending with equal determination and the Mumbai boys can take a lot of pride in the way that they held off the home team, who had almost all of the momentum in the last 10 minutes.

The last real action saw Reagan Singh attempt a long shot on goal from a free kick, but Nidhin Lal was able to tip it over the bar and the match ended 1-1 with both teams sharing a point each.

SNAZZY KINGFISHER EAST BENGAL MARRED MORGAN’S KOLKATA OUTING

KOLKATA:

East Bengal rode goals from Dudu Omagbemi, Ranti Martins and Shylo Tluanga to thump Dempo 3-1 in an I-League match on Saturday evening. Tolgay Ozbey scored the solitary goal for the away side.

Eelco Schattorie, the coach of the Red and Golds made just one change to the side as Shylo Tluanga made his way back in the team with marquee player Leo Bertos making way.

Trevor Morgan, on the other hand, included Nirmal Chettri in place of Jewel Raja in the line-up as Tolgay Ozbey started from the bench yet again.

East Bengal dominated the proceedings from the scratch though both the teams failed to create any clear-cut chances in the opening 20 minutes. Cavin Lobo tried his luck from distance in the 11th minute, the ball missed the near post by some distance.

The Red and Golds finally claimed the lead in the 22th minute, when Ranti and Dudu combined well to make a routine ball count. Ranti had dropped deep and sent a long ball to the right for his compatriot. Dudu timed his run perfectly and got the ball ahead of Debabrata Roy, and after seeing the opponent custodian coming off his line, he placed the ball above his head into the net to give his side the lead.

Only three minutes after this, Ranti Martins joined the party. An innocent cross from Mama was met inside the box by a thumping header from the Nigerian and it went on to hit the post past the stretched left hand of Kattimani. The ball however, hit the goal-keeper’s head while coming out and changed its trajectory to go inside the target, much to the agony of the travellers.

Both the teams enjoyed a few half-chances after that, but the defenses stood tall to thwart the dangers.

Morgan finally decided to throw Tolgay in action right after the break as the Aussie striker and Gabriel Fernandes were subbed in.

East Bengal had their third goal of the night in the 64th minute, when Tluanga’s long ranger hit the top corner. Mehtab shot was blocked by Angus and Mama took an outfooted shot in the rebound, whichgave Kattimani no chance to stop.

Sushil Singh had a half-chance but failed to keep his shot on target, while Tolgay’s penalty appeal was denied by the referee.

Dempo finally reduced the deficit in the 84th minute, when Gurwinder’s Singh alleged push on Sushil Singh earned them a penalty. Tolgay took the spot-kick and scored his fourth goal of the campaign.

The hosts held on to the lead and bagged all important three points from the tie.