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Robin Singh finished off some brilliant work by Beikhokhei Beingaichho, placing his header home as I-League leaders Bengaluru FC drew 1-1 with Mumbai FC at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The equalizer came after Mumbai FC defender Ebi Sukore gave the visiting team a 47th minute lead that they would soon lose.
While the result still leaves Bengaluru FC in pole position on the table with a three-point lead over Sporting Clube de Goa, Ashley Westwood believed his boys had the chances to stretch the gap to five.
With skipper Sunil Chhetri missing the fixture owing to a suspension, Robin started in the centre while Sean Rooney played on the right. Westwood handed the captain’s armband to young right-back Rino Anto who has been impressive all season. Bengaluru FC made all the right noises to start with but weren’t capitalizing on all the possession they had. Mumbai FC, on the other hand, were content soaking in the attacks.
Robin Singh smashed the bar from the right in the very second minute, making a statement of intent. But it was in the 33rd minute that the striker should have pulled the dagger only for his touch to let him down. Beingaichho squeezed in on the right and found Robin who had to simply tap home from close. But Robin’s touch let him down as the ball bobbed off his feet and out of danger.
It was all Bengaluru FC in the first half, but it remained goalless at the break. Then it was Mumbai FC who surprisingly shot into the lead two minutes into the second. Picked out from the left, Sukore turned Curtis Osano the wrong way before calmly tapping home, much to the home support’s shock.
But Bengaluru FC refused to let the goal negate all the hard work they had been putting in and reaped a reward in the 55th minute. Set free down the right, Beingaichho dazzled with some sublime skill that saw him take out two Mumbai FC defenders before sending in an inch-perfect cross that robin Singh nodded in to spark the crowd to life.
Going for the kill, Westwood pulled off a slightly-injured Beingaichho as C.K. Vineeth came on for his Bengaluru FC debut. Minutes later, striker Karan Sawhney came on for Siam Hanghal as Bengaluru FC pressed for a winner. However, Mumbai FC staved off attack after attack as the game ended with players from both sides exchanging words. Bengaluru FC now have 31 points from 16 games while Mumbai FC, in 10th place, have 18 points from 16 games.
