MATCH REPORT: Game of defensive errors as Mumbai gift Delhi Dynamos a draw
A MASSIVE BLUNDER in the final few seconds took away Mumbai City's chance to bag their first away win as Robin Singh equalised for Delhi Dynamos on the last touch of the game to finish the game with the scoreboard reading 1-1.
The coaches were wise enough to bow out of the action after the performance they put on in their respective previous games. Apart from himself, Roberto Carlos benched Francis Fernandes and Robin Singh. The three were replaced by Seminlen Doungel, Souvik Chakraborty and Adil Nabi. Nicolas Anelka also dropped out, taking down with him Pavel Cmovs, Subhash Singh, Juan Aguilera and Ashutosh Mehta. To replace them, in came Frederic Piquionne, Sampath Kuttymani, Cristian Bustos and Kingshuk Debnath.
The first half was a skillful contest of near equals that maintained a level of crispy combativeness with constant end-to-end barrages of counters. Early on the home side moved to threaten as a Hans Mulder ball found Souvik Chakraborty. He scooped it towards young Adil Nabi, the forward from West Bromwich, but it did not reach him.
They moved up again a few minutes later but Doungel's pass to Nabi found him offside.
After a off night against Atletico de Kolkata, Sony Norde was his old creative self once again as he maneuvred his way around the left flank. Sunil Chhetri was also getting into the thick of things, combining with Benachour to set things up for Piquionne a couple of times.
A corner kick taken by Norde got cleared but came straight to the Haitian winger. He sent the cross in which Bertin got a shot on, but it hit a defender and went out.
Souvik was having a busy night dealing with advances from Piquionne and others. He was also doing his bit to run the supply line to the midfield. His ball to Doungel led to Malouda go deep into Mumbai territory and earn a corner.
Delhi were consciously keeping more of the possession, often passing around safely among themselves, in order to keep the visitors' attackers from gaining any sort of rhythm.
Towards the end of the first half a good pass from Piquionne led to a header invading the box which Chhetri was waiting to receive but Anas Edathodika intercepted it. Delhi quickly rose in counter but Mulder's shot missed the crossbar by inches.
The half ended 0-0 with none of the teams looking too dangerous, both coaches choosing to play a calculated game, eager to not be the first one to concede. But the story could not be more different in the second half.
Both teams came back on the pitch with an attacking intent and both got close early on. A brilliant cross from Selim saw Sunil receive it on his chest and shoot on the turn. Doblas threw himself at the ball to deny him.
Even the tackles and challenges became more aggressive. Lalchhuan Mawia picked up the first yellow card of the match for a foul on Richard Gadze.
Delhi almost scored from the resulting free-kick. Florent Malouda managed to fool the defenders and the goalkeepers with his swinger but it hit the crossbar.
After the hour mark, Anelka started making his substitutions. Sampath Kuttymani made way for Brandon Fernandes whose arrival infused some extra pace into the midfield for Mumbai City.
After Kingshuk managed to get in the way of a shot from Doungel and clear the attempt, Carlos introduced Gustavo Marmentini up front instead of Richard Gadze, then brought Robin Singh on for Doungel. But before the new entrants had any chance to settle in, Mumbai scored.
It was a through ball from Benachour. Piquionne ran for it, clashing with the nearest defender who fell over. He easily ran past the Delhi defensive line, with miles of space and only Doblas ahead of him, whom he drew out by running at an angle then sent the ball in with ease. Mumbai City were 1-0 up and 20 minutes away from their first away win.
Delhi came very close to equalising when a cross from Souvik Chakraborty found Robin Singh. His header was just about cleared by Subrata Pal.
But the equaliser came. In a most dramatic and perhaps disappointing fashion. After the 4 minutes of added time had almost ticked over, Delhi Dynamos got a free kick. Florent Malouda took it. By that time everybody had gone into end-of-the-game mode and seemed to be caught unaware. The ball flew towards Lalchhuan Mawia who casually headed it. The ball found Robin Singh who was standing right behind him. His shot towards the goal caught everyone unawares. It was the last touch of the game and he scored.
Roberto Carlos wasn't too happy about a goal like that. He went up to Nicolas Anelka and apologised for it. But the goal was legitimate; a match isn't over until the whistle comes. Mumbai were denied their first away win moments before it was in their grasp and the match ended 1-1.
Apart from being a lesson in the need to being alert till the end, the game also made the ISL points table far more interesting to look at. Delhi Dynamos moved up to the second place, equal to table toppers Goa with 14 points from 8 games. Mumbai City, meanwhile, crept into the 4th position with 11 points from the same number of matches. The game once again made it clear that the ISL title race had no clear leader and no one is out of the running.
For Delhi, this is a point they will take as a bonus before they take on Kolkata at home next Saturday. The long break will help them address their defensive shortcomings that led them to go a goal down in the first place. For Mumbai City, missing out on the win may prove more costly down the line. And things will get more challenging as they travel back home to take on Pune City next Friday with many of their players unavailable due to international duty.
The contest was interesting and wholesome, and the fact that both the goals came from defensive errors undermines the quality of effort both teams put up in fortifying their respective defences. The keepers made some good saves. And for a match of this magnitude it was surprisingly clean with few bookings. But all said and done, nobody would want to be in the shoes of a certain Lalchhuan Mawia tonight.
