Originally published in The Times of India on January 25, 2020
Hyderabad: Hyderabad FC held Mumbai City FC to a 1-1 draw at the Gachibowli Stadium on Friday.
The scrappy game saw both the goals coming from penalties as both sides laboured to create convincing chances. Mohamed Larbi struck a penalty for Mumbai before the stroke of half-time but saw his goal being cancelled out by Marko Stankovic’s penalty in the dying minutes of the game.
The game got off to a languid start as both teams contested several midfield duels but lacked end product.
Mumbai forward Amine Chermiti put the ball in the net after a deflection following a cross by Mohamed Larbi in the 14th minute. But the goal was disallowed as the referee deemed the ball as having gone out of play after Larbi’s cross. Moments later, Chermiti played Diego Carlos through on goal, whose shot was kept out by Hyderabad keeper Laxmikant Kattimani.
A Hyderabad attack saw forward Marcelinho attempt a hopeful long-range shot but the ball went flying above the goalpost. Mumbai sought to exploit the space near the Hyderabad box but were held off on multiple occasions by Adil Khan.
Mumbai broke the deadlock thanks to a penalty after the ball hit Hyderabad defender Nikhil Poojary’s arm inside the box. Larbi drove the ball past Kattimani’s left to hand Mumbai a 1-0 lead just before half-time.
The game turned into an end-to-end affair as both teams started aggressively in the second half. Marcelinho tried to turn architect by playing other Hyderabad players through on goal but was let down by his teammates’ lack of finishing ability. Shortly after, Carlos missed the chance to put the game to bed from close-range as he made a hash of an easy shot.
Matthew Kilgallon missed successive chances to equalize for Hyderabad after he headed wide twice from two corners within a span of ten minutes.
Hyderabad avoided the blushes of a fifth-successive defeat after a foul by Pratik Chaudhari on Bobo inside the box led to the home team being given a penalty. Midfielder Marko Stankovic delivered a bullet shot past Amrinder’s left to equalize for Hyderabad at the death.
The result saw Mumbai continue to hover outside the top 4 and Hyderabad grab their sixth point of the season.
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