Mumbai FC claw back as Salgaocar FC falter in I-League

Vasco: Hosts Salgaocar FC twice took the lead only to let the advantage slip through their fingers with a patchy performance before settling for a 2-2 draw against Mumbai FC in a 11th round I-League encounter at the Tilak Maidan on Saturday.
Missing was the pluck, passion, perseverance and finesse that earned them a spectacular win over Kolkata giants East Bengal in their last outing.Mumbai played smart, clamped down on Thonghosiem Haokip and Calvin Mbarga and showed great resilience in defence even as the rising humidity slowed down the players. Clifford Miranda made an early exit for Mumbai, while Salgaocar midfielder Martin Scott was forced to do likewise, thanks to the sweltering heat.
Two brilliant strikes on either side of the lemon break through Jackichand Singh and Brian Mascarenhas, the latter’s high cross that looked harmless, stunned the goalkeeper as it dipped suddenly and sneaked into the roof of the right corner of the net, raised visions of a home victory.
Howver, Mumbai neutralised Brian Mascarenhas' 25th minute strike when Salgaocar wingback Regan Singh needlessly hacked down Sushil Kumar Singh in the penalty area to concede a penalty. Sushil confidently converted from the spot.
The absence of an experienced quality striker up front in the absence of the injured Darryl Duffy meant Salgaocar’s attack was rendered toothless. The experienced Mumbai defence had Haokip and Calvin well bottled while Jackichand needs to understand that being a team-man is more important than going for glory. So also substitute Seityasen Singh who made his advent in the second half.
Had the two talented youngsters only understood the importance of releasing the ball on time, Salgaocar would have coasted home victors and coach Santosh Kashyap wouldn’t have had to spend a sleepless night. But that was not to be and referee Animesh Biswas did not make things any better when he awarded Mumbai a second penalty for a handball that was never really intentional when a quick clearance from the defence saw the ball ricochet off a Salgaocar defender’s hand in a melee, even as Ryuki Kozawa attempted to direct it goalwards.
Kozawa confidently converted from the spot in the 65th minute to restore parity for Mumbai once again.
Thereafter, Mumbai found their rhythm and settled into a groove, playing the holding game with elan. The vast richness of experience in Anwar Ali, Sushil Kumar, the livewire Eric Brown and buzzing Kozawa, Alan Dias, Ashutosh Mehta and Jayesh Rane ensured they dictated terms but only just as Mumbai did eventually achieve what they set out to do – snatch an away point.
“I’m happy with the performance of the boys. They played well but the humidity that is setting in is making things difficult for the boys. But they worked hard and need to continue their pursue of excellence if the team is to save the drop,” said Salgaocar coach Santosh Kashyap, adding, “as I said earlier, Mumbai is a fighting unit with loads of experience and know how to fight back from a tight corner.”
“I thought the boys played a very good game. I am happy with the performance and the away point,” said Mumbai coach Khalid Jamil.