Second Division League: Mohammedan SC share points with Dempo SC in a goalless draw

Shabbir Ali with Man of the match Muhammad Ali. Image Source: Mdsc
Shabbir Ali with Man of the match Muhammad Ali. Image Source: MDSC

Kolkata: The marquee clash of the ongoing I-League 2nd Division between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Dempo Sports Club turned out to be a damp squib resulting in the teams settling for a scoreless stalemate in their Final Round encounter, here on Thursday.

Having dominated possession, Mohammedan SC fell short of converting the numerous chances that fell their way in both halves and ended up sharing spoils at the Mohammedan Sporting Ground. With one point from three games, Mohammedan SC stay rooted at bottom while Dempo SC (4 pts) missed the chance to go on second spot.

Going into the game, Mohammedan Sporting made five changes to the side that lost to Minerva Academy FC earlier this week handing strats to Priyant Singh, Manish Maithani, Imran Khan, Ajay Singh and Lancine Toure over Abhijit Mondal, Bikramjit Singh, Basanta Singh, Mumtaz Akhtar and Simbarashe Gate.

In a fiercely contested battle, it was the hosts who began aggressively and pushed up from the word go. James Moga was the first to go close but his effort from inside went inches over the crossbar in the 11th minute.

Dempo responded almost immediately when Romeo Fernandes combined with Jewel Raja on the left to sent a cross in for Felix Chidi Odili but Mohammedan SC defence was alert enough to clear the danger.

In the 27th minute Imran almost put Mohammedan SC into the lead but his long range effort was denied by Dempo keeper Laxmikant Kattimani at the near post.

Thereafter, Mohammedan SC kept on pushing forward and had several chances in front of the rival goal but the Dempo defence stood firm thwarting Mohammedan SC attackers as the teams went into the breather tied at goalless.

The second session was a similar story to the first as Mohammedan SC continued to dominate proceedings. However, once again it was the lack of finishing that let them down.

The first real chance for the hosts came in the 59th minute when Ajay fired in a well-taken volley from close range which was saved by a Kattimani.

The Dempo skipper followed it up with another save six minutes later, this time to block Manish who smashed a powerful low drive from the edge of the 18-yard-box.

In the remainder of the half the ball mostly played in the midfield before it ended 0-0.

Dempo SC defender Mohammed Ali has been named Man of the Match.

Mohammedan SC will now face Lonestar Kashmir FC in a away encounter on April 14, 2016 at Srinagar.