ISL 2020-21: 10-man Jamshedpur FC hold off Mumbai City FC

Nerijus Valskis celebrates after scoring for Jamshedpur FC vs Mumbai City
Nerijus Valskis celebrates after scoring for Jamshedpur FC vs Mumbai City
Vipin Pawar / Sportzpics for ISL

A flurry of missed chances saw table-toppers Mumbai City FC settle for only a 1-1 draw against 10-man Jamshedpur FC on Monday.

Owen Coyle's men took the lead through Nerijus Valskis in the ninth minute after Bartholomew Ogbeche gave the ball away under Jamshedpur's press. Jackichand Singh ran into the box and played a perfectly weighted ball into Valskis' path, who found the bottom corner with a first time shot.

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Ogbeche himself equalised within six minutes after neat interplay down the Mumbai left saw Bipin Singh tee up the striker inside the box. A red card for Aitor Monroy around the half-hour mark saw Jamshedpur reduced to ten men but some dogged defending and a number of missed chances for Mumbai, saw the former get away with a draw.

In the 28th minute, Monroy, already booked for hacking Cy Goddard down early on, crashed into Ogbeche near the half way line, and the referee showed him a second yellow. This meant Jamshedpur had to defend with ten men against Mumbai for an hour and more.

Mumbai unleashed wave after wave of attacks, but to no avail. Mourtada Fall blazed one over in the 38th minute while, a couple of minutes later, Ogbeche headed wide from close range. The Jamshedpur defence held firm as both teams went into the break on level terms.

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The second half picked up where the first had left off with Sergio Lobera's men giving everything in their bid to find a winner. They missed an excellent opportunity in the 61st minute when a blocked Ogbeche shot trickled down to Rowllin Borges. The midfielder had the goal gaping in front but somehow contrived to shoot over the crossbar.

Jamshedpur had the rare counter attack, and Valskis thought he had given them an unlikely lead in the 79th minute, only for the referee to raise his flag for offside, correctly. But the action was primarily concentrated at the other end.

TP Rehenesh produced a terrific double-save in the 83rd minute to keep his side in the game -- first blocking a stinging volley from Adam Le Fondre and then pushing away the rebound to prevent the onrushing Ogbeche from bundling it in.

Ogbeche then missed a clear-cut chance to put his team ahead in injury time, failing to divert a free header from close range into goal.

With the draw Jamshedpur climb to sixth with 7 points in six games, while Mumbai remain on top with 13 points in six. Jamshedpur play NorthEast United next on the 18th, while Mumbai face Hyderabad on the 20th.