Both sides had the attackers firing blanks, despite a plethora of goal-scoring chances …
Chennaiyin FC registered their first point of the season after holding Mumbai City FC to a 0-0 draw on Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Both sides created ample goal-scoring opportunities but lacked quality in the final third.
An injury to Mato Grgic forced Jorge Costa to field an all-Indian backline, with Pratik Choudhary replacing the foreigner. Modou Sougou, who was named on the bench in the first match, started up front alongside Amine Chermiti but had to be replaced midway through the first half due to an injury.
The hosts started on the front foot, forcing a double save from Amrinder Singh in the first minute of the game. Andre Schembri and Rafael Crivellaro were in the thick of the action in the first half, but the Mumbai custodian stood tall to keep them off the score-sheet.
At the other end, Mumbai created several chances in the first half, mostly helped by Chennaiyin’s shabby back-line. Lazy defending from Edwin Vanspaul saw the visitors through on goal twice, with Amine Chermiti and Gabon striker Kevyn Angoue missing sitters. The latter was also guilty of not doing justice to Raynier Fernandes’ dangerous cross that Vishal Kaith struggled to deal with.
Plenty of chances were created by both sides in the first half but neither deserved a lead at the break. The visitors were toothless in the final third and Chennaiyin just could not get the better of Amrinder.
Unlike the first half, the second 45 minutes so fewer chances created by both sides, but the lack of quality in the final third was a constant.
Paulo Machado was an instant impact after he came on for Fernandes. He set Serge Kevyn on goal but the Gabon striker hit it too close to Amrinder, who did not have to break a sweat to preserve his clean-sheet.
Souvik Chakrabarti picked up a second yellow for catching Thoi late in injury time after playing on the edge throughout the game.
The game eventually ended in a 0-0 draw, a fair reflection of the toothless display up front from both sides.
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