ISL 2015: Maha derby ends in goalless draw as Mumbai City and Pune City share spoils

Nicolas Anelka started the game but was unable to make an impact on the game for Mumbai City (Image courtesy of ISL)

Mumbai City FC were held to a goalless draw by FC Pune City at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) to move level on points with leaders FC Goa in the ISL charts. The game lacked the spark right throughout the game as chances came at a premium for both teams.

Mumbai City made five changes to the side which almost came away from Delhi with a win. Nicolas Anelka, Subhash Singh and Brandon Fernandes came in for Sunil Chhetri, Sony Norde and Frantz Bertin who were unavailable thanks to international duty. Keegan Pereira came in for Lalchhuanmawia Fanai who too had just returned from Bengaluru at left back, while Ashutosh Mehta returned to the team after serving a suspension in place of Kinshuk Debnath.

David Platt also rung in the changes as Govin and Gurjinder Singh slotted into the defence in place of Gourmangi and Lenny Rodrigues. Sushant Mathew and Bikash Jairu started in midfield as Tuncay Sanli returned to the starting lineup for Pune City. Platt opted to start with Arindam Bhattacharya in goal in place of Steve Simonsen as the former Premier League goalkeeper earned a well-deserved rest.

First Half

The game endured a cagey start to it as there was little action in the first ten minutes of the game before Mumbai City FC slowly got hold off the ball post the 10-minute mark. But there was little penetration from Anelka’s men who strangely started with Frederic Piquionne playing in the hole behind Subhash Singh while Anelka himself started on the left flank.

Piquionne did well to get Mumbai City’s first shot in the game after he intercepted a loose pass from a Pune City defender to let a shot fly from thirty yards out which went harmlessly over the bar in the 24th minute.

Three minutes later, Mumbai City passed up a great chance to take the lead in the game as Arindam Bhattacharya made a mess of a regulation clearance, allowing the industrious Subhash Singh to chase him down and nick the ball off the Pune City goalkeeper. But Subhash couldn’t apply the finishing touches as he fired his shot into the side netting.

Brandon Fernandes who had just recovered from an injury recently had to forced off after he suffered a hamstring injury post the half hour mark. Sampath Kuttymani came on for the injured Fernandes which forced Piquionne to go back to his favored striker’s position as Subhash dropped back to the right flank.

But little changed in the remainder of the first half as referee CR Srikrishna signaled the end of a drab first half of football at the DY Patil Stadium

Second Half

Mumbai City started the second half with a good spell of possession, but it was Pune City who had the first opportunity in the 48th minute when Darren O’Dea’s loose clearance from a long ball fell to Adrian Mutu on the edge of the box as the Romanian’s thunderous volley went just wide of the target.

Mumbai City were denied a possible penalty in the 54th minute when Piquionne’s hit Roger Johnson’s hand which was quite away from his body, but his proximity to Piquionne while the Frenchman delivered his cross probably saved Johnson.

Adrian Mutu almost got the better of the Mumbai City defence on one occasion, forcing a save from Subrata Pal (Image courtesy of ISL)

Platt brought on Kalu Uche in place of Tuncay Sanli in the 67th minute as he looked to freshen things up in attack. Uche very nearly provided Pune City with the much-needed energy up front and set up Mutu for a shot from long range in the 75th minute which was tipped over the bar by an alert Subrata Pal.

Arindam Bhattacharya then produced a save from the top drawer in the 78th minute to deny substitute Sampath Kuttymani who fired his shot on target after latching onto a flick on from Piquionne. Bhattacharya produced an excellent save from point-blank range to prevent Mumbai City from taking the crucial lead.

Mumbai City won a free-kick in a promising position five minutes from time, but Anelka couldn’t make the most of it as Mumbai City had to settle for a second successive draw in the ISL. The point was a good one for Pune City as it took them level on points with FC Goa at the top while Mumbai City remained outside the top four with 12 points from nine games.