By Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay
I-League Media

NEW DELHI: Round 10 of the 9th Hero I-League saw 4 tightly contested matches which resulted in 11 goals with an average of 2.75 per match. The matches played at the Cooperage Stadium and the JN Stadium ended in stalemates while the other two encounters fought at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium and the Tilak Maidan failed to produce any upset.

The round started at the JN Stadium as Shillong Lajong FC hosted debutants DSK Shivajians following their 1-1 draw at the Balewadi Stadium in the previous round. Thangboi Singto started with the youngsters once again, who kept the DSK Shivajians defense in check for the first few minutes. Eventually, the pace dropped and the battle was confined to the midfield area. At the stroke of the hour, Dipanda Dica, the Cameroonian striker, headed his 4th goal in the Hero I-league from a meticulous cross by Juan Quero Barasso. The 71st minute saw Boithang Haokip curling in the equaliser from a brilliantly taken left-footed free kick. Both managers tried to steal in a late winner by introducing fresh pairs of legs, but none could find the back of the net. Eventually, the return leg between the debutants from Pune and the Reds also failed to find an outright winner.

The Mariners travelled all the way to Goa from Guwahati following their win against Maziya Sports & Recreation Club in their AFC Cup opener. The reigning champions kicked off exquisitely by netting in the first 13 minutes of the game. Jeje Lalpekhlua netted his 3rd goal of the season and put his team on the driving seat. 3 minutes later, Cornell Glen ended his frustrating goal drought in the Hero I-League when Katsumi Yusa provided the assist from outside the 18-yard box. The lanky striker poked his 6th goal in the Hero I-League in the added minutes of the first half. The match was all but done in the first 45 minutes and it needed a valiant comeback from the Greens to gain something out of it. The Greens couldn’t match up with the sheer pace and swashbuckling passing of the Mariners and they opted to switch to a physical game. The referee had to flash the yellow card thrice and the challenge by Gilbert Oliviera on Bikramjit Singh was a suicidal one which earned him the marching order in the 80th minute. Towards the end, Darryl Duffy headed it home from a looping ball unleashed by Jackichand Singh, but the Scottish, who’s leading the chart now with 9 goals in as many matches, could only minimise the winning margin for the leaders.

Sandip Nandy’s debut for Mumbai FC could have been merrier if he would have saved the long range effort by the Syrian medio Mahmood Al-Amna in the 8th minute. 10 minutes later, Ryuki Kozowa cancelled the Flaming Oranje’s lead from inside the box when he netted his first goal for Mumbai FC. It was a dicey first half which ended with the marching order to NP Pradeep following his nasty tackle on Odafa Okolie. Post the lemon break, Khalid Jamil didn’t adopt a defensive attitude and introduced Jayesh Rane at the expense of Rohit Mirza. The stylish midfielder provided his team with the much-needed lead in the 53rd minute and the spectators went berserk. Mateus Costa played an ace with the introduction of Victorino Fernandes who also got his name in the scoresheet within 3 minutes of joining the fray.  The tempo rose in the last half-an-hour but the custodians showed great character to keep the scoreline unchanged. The match ended in a 2-2 stalemate. Meanwhile, Rahim Nabi, the ex-national player, couldn’t get much time to make his Mumbai FC debut a memorable one.

Back in Bengaluru, Ashley Westwood and his troop desperately needed to get the monkey off their back as they were coming from 2 defeats in their last 3 home fixtures in the Hero I-League. Jahar Das’ boys started on a high note and Albert almost found the back of the net in the 8th minute. It was mostly a midfield battle in the first 45 minutes. On the resumption, CK Vineeth pulled the gear when he headed his 4th goal in the current season from a long free kick taken by Keegan Pereira, who manned the defence in the absence of Lalchhaunmawia Fanai. Both gaffers tried their options in the second half but none could produce any goal further. Courtesy the single goal by the lanky striker, Bengaluru FC secured a double over the debutants.

Mohun Bagan, having maintained their unbeaten record in the Hero I-League, have amassed 21 points from 9 matches. All thanks to their slim win over Aizawl FC, the Blues have leapfrogged Kingfisher East Bengal to the 2nd spot having gathered 1 point more than the Red & Golds, who haven’t plied their trade in the round 10. Salgaocar FC are still in the danger zone and they have very little time left to get their combination right. Both the debutants Aizawl FC and DSK Shivajians are placed above them with 8 and 6 points respectively.