JAMSHEDPUR: Jamshedpur FC and NorthEast United FC played out a goalless draw at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Saturday. The match saw only one shot on target over the ninety minutes and it came from the visitors.

The point lifted the Highlanders to the second spot in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) table with 18 points from nine matches. Jamshedpur remained in the fourth spot and have 15 points from their 10 outings.

Both teams made a tentative start to the match and looked to maintain possession of the ball. The first chance fell to the home side on the ninth minute, after Memo found Pablo Morgado with a long pass from the midfield. The Spaniard took the shooting opportunity, but his effort was too high.

NorthEast hit back with a chance of their own on the other half of the field. Ogbeche did extremely well to hold off his marker inside the box, before laying the ball off for an onrushing Rowllin Borges. The midfielder, however, rushed his shot and put it over the bar.

As the half progressed, Jamshedpur started dominating possession, while NorthEast seemed content staying back and playing on the counter. But neither of the goalkeepers faced any serious test. Both defences kept their shape and most of the attacking play were restricted to shots from outside the box. Chances were few and far between in the first 45 minutes, as both teams headed into the break with the score level at 0-0.

The second-half picked up from where the first-half left off, with either team failing to make any definitive inroads into the opposition defence. It took 58 minutes to register the first shot on target in the match. Federico Gallego’s shot forced a regulation save from Subrata Paul.

On the hour mark, Jamshedpur head coach Cesar Ferrando introduced Tim Cahill to the fray in order the shake things up.

With 64 minutes on the clock, NorthEast almost found a way inside the Jamshedpur box after a dangerous backpass by Memo. But Subrata came off his line quickly to bail his teammate out.

The match started to open up a bit after the 70-minute mark. Jamshedpur substitute Mobashir Rahman’s volley from outside the box managed to worry NorthEast goalkeeper Pawan Kumar for the first time in the match. The shot, however, sailed inches over the bar.

The Highlanders have made it a habit of scoring late goals this season and it seemed the trend may continue when Ogbeche found space inside the Jamshedpur box on the 89th minute. The striker tried to bend one inside the far post. A backtracking Bikash Jairu managed to put a crucial block in to deny him.

It was the final piece of goalmouth action in the match as both sides settled for a point.

CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC played out a goalless draw with Kerala Blasters in their Indian Super League clash on Thursday.

Chennaiyin were desperately in need of the maximum points, but they failed to make the home advantage count for them and can only rue their missed chances of which there were many in what was a tough game played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

The result saw Chennaiyin remain on 9th place with 5 points from 9 matches while Kerala Blasters are on 7th position with 8 points.

Both teams started the game at a frantic pace in the hope of catching their opponents early on but to no avail.

Chennaiyin looked the more likely to open the scoring and almost did so in the 6th minute when Isaac Vanmalsawma crossed in from the left side to Andrea Orlandi inside the box but the Spaniard’s header went straight to keeper.

Jeje Lalpekhlua also came close to break the deadlock for the hosts in the 20th minute when Orlandi made his way into the box from the left flank and cut it back to Jeje who fired his shot off target.

Chennaiyin were attacking with zeal, precision and tenacity in the first-half. They were asking all sorts of questions to the Kerala Blasters defence and could have taken the lead on the 30-minute mark.

Orlandi floated a free-kick in from the left and Eli Sabia head it down for Thoi Singh to shot on goal. However, Dheeraj made fantastic diving save on his left to keep his side in the game.

Kerala Blasters created little in reply, with their only notable attacking effort of the first-half seeing Halicharan Narzary controlling a ball in the penalty area, but any hopes of getting away a shot were quickly crushed by Chennaiyin custodian Sanjiban Ghosh in the 38th minute.

Thereafter, neither side were able to create any further chances in the first-half with the score deadlocked 0-0 as the teams headed for the change room at the break.

The hosts visitors were better after the break, but continued to be frustrated by a disciplined Chennaiyin defense.

Keziron Kizito fored over the target six minutes into the second-half, while a short while after Sahal Abdul Samad saw his goal-bound effort stymied by Sanjiban.

At the other end, Raphael Augusto led a quick counter-attack, but his shot took a deflection and Dheeraj collected the ball with ease.

The embattled goalkeeper needed to make another top save shortly after the hour mark when a free-kick from Orlandi found Jeje who headed on target in the 71st minute.

Seiminlen Doungel should have netted the winner for Kerala Blasters in the 82nd minute when he received a lovely pass from Zakeer Mundampara and went one against one with Sanjiban, who produced a brilliant save to prevent his side from losing two points.

The remainder of the match was a frustrating time for Chennaiyin, who dominated play but were unable to find a way through Kerala Blasters’ resilient defense. Even the introduction of Carlos Salom and Anirudh Thapa off the bench didn’t help the hosts find the breakthrough.

Bengaluru: In what is the first reverse fixture of the season for the Blues, Carles Cuadrat’s side take on FC Pune City at the Kanteerava Stadium, on Friday, with the intent to stretch their unbeaten start to the Indian Super League and further their lead on top of the table. Bengaluru FC, with 19 points from seven games, are two points clear of second-placed FC Goa on the standings, with Sergio Lobera’s side having played two games more.

“We are enjoying a good phase at the moment and it’s important that we keep it going. The first part of our target will be complete once we make the play-off stages, so I am not taking anything for granted until then,” he said, while addressing the media on the eve of the game.

It needed an 87th minute winner from Udanta Singh at the Fortress on Monday to beat Delhi Dynamos 1-0 and Cuadrat will be hoping that Friday’s fixture will see a marked improvement in the way his side go about things. Injuries and suspensions have thrown a spanner in the works for the Blues who have relied on resilience to pull them through.

In better news for the hosts, Dimas Delgado returns to the squad after serving a suspension and Erik Paartalu, who came on in the second half against Delhi, looks fit to start. The attack will however have their work cut out after Miku was ruled out till the end of the year owing to the ankle injury that kept him out for the last two games. “Miku will only be available in January now. He will be flying to Spain on Friday to further his treatment that requires him to take a few injections. It is an unfortunate situation given the kind of quality he brings to the team, but this is a chance for the others to stand up and be counted,” said Cuadrat.

While the midfield and attack have been operating rather seamlessly for most parts of the season, it is the Bengaluru defence that has been silently but surely making the biggest difference. The Blues back line have let in five goals in seven games, making them the side to conceded the least so far this season.

They will however face a potent threat in the Pune attack tonight. Iain Hume was handed his first start of the season in the 2-0 defeat to NorthEast United earlier this week and the highest goal scorer in the League’s history can be a handful when on song. In Brazilian Marcelinho and the impressive Ashique Kuruniyan, Pune possess the quality needed to come at Bengaluru.

However, coach Pradhyum Reddy – a former assistant coach at Bengaluru for three seasons – too has a key player missing in Brazilian Diego Carlos who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

While the Blues are on a five-game winning streak in the ISL, the Stallions come into this game with a not-so-ideal away record having last won on the road way back in February this year when they overcame Mumbai 2-0. Since then, they have drawn three times and lost four conceding 14 goals and scoring seven.

The game kicks off at 7.30 pm and will be telecast live across the STAR Sports network, HotStar, JioTV and Colors Kannada Cinema.

KOLKATA: ATK and FC Goa played out an enthralling goalless draw at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Goa started the half as the better of the two sides and should have really scored two goals within the first 15 minutes. Seriton Fernandes was awarded the first real chance in the seventh minute when he was slipped through by Jackichand Singh. The right-back though failed to direct his shot on target and hit the side-netting.

A few minutes later, Goa had an even better chance when Ahmed Jahouh delivered an inch perfect ball to the far post. Mourtada Fall ghosted behind the defence to win a free header, however, he could only find the side-netting – a real let off for ATK.

The hosts then spurned a few good chances themselves. Santos, who was ATK’s most threatening player of the first period almost broke the deadlock near the half-hour mark. A delicious pass from Jayesh Rane across the face of goal was flicked on by the Brazilian attacker. But Goa custodian Mohammad Nawaz stood firm to make a good stop.

ATK wold come closest to scoring in the 36th minute through Lanzarote. After some neat build up play from Santos and Gerson Vieira, the ball fell to the Spaniard inside the box. He chested it down before firing a shot, which narrowly missed the far post. That would prove to be the last notable piece of action of an end-to-end goalless half.

ATK started the second half on a bright note and created a neat opening in the 54th minute. Santos and Lanzarote were once again in the thick of the action, carving open the Goa defence with their fine running. This time Lanzarote laid the ball off to Rane, who took one touch before forcing a good stop from Nawaz.

A few minutes after the hour-mark, drama ensued as Goa felt hard done by when they were not awarded a penalty. Substitute Manvir showed incredible control and composure to beat ATK’s offside trap before creating space for a shot a goal. His effort was blocked by Bikey before being cleared off the line by John Johnson. The ball seemed to have hit Bikey on the arm, but the referee waved play on.

As the match reached its end, chances were few and far between as both sides seemed to settle for a point. Goa did have a glorious opportunity in the final minute though when Ferran Corominas demonstrated determination and skill to beat two defenders before delivering a cross for Edu Bedia. The midfielder, however, failed to direct his shot on target as the ball ran out of play.

PUNE: NorthEast United lifted themselves to second on the Indian Super League table with a 2-0 win over FC Pune City on Tuesday at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.

Goals from Bartholomew Ogbeche (23′) and Juan Mascia (90+1′) secured the victory for the Highlanders, taking them two points adrift of leaders Bengaluru FC. While FC Pune City remain 8th on the table with 5 points.

The opening 10 minutes was a rather scrappy affair, with both teams unable to hold onto the ball long enough to create any decent scoring opportunities.

The first effort on goal only came in the 9th minute, when Ogbeche won the ball from a Pune defender on the left flank. The Nigerian had a chance to shoot by himself but decided to pass it to Mascia who tried to shoot but a defender blocked it away.

Three minutes later Pune City came bitterly close to taking the lead through Ashique Kuruniyan but his first time shot was superbly saved by the NorthEast custodian Pawan Kumar.

Pune City had another chance in the 16th minute when Iain Hume from the right-hand side nicely squared a pass to Marcelo Pereira who tried to round the defender but slipped and it has been cleared away.

NorthEast, thereafter, continued to press on, and it was no surprise when they took the lead in the 23rd minute though Ogbeche. Federico Gallego crossed it flat from the corner. It went past everybody at the near post and fell to Ogbeche who chested it down and slotted into the far post.

From the goal onwards, NorthEast dominated the proceedings, but poor decision-making let them down in the final third which saw Eelco Schattorie’s charges went into the breather with only a solitary goal lead.

Pune City showed intent after the interval as they made more box entries in their quest to score the equaliser and the Stallions nearly found it at the hour mark when Mato Grgic’s long throw inside the box found Marko Stankovic who took a first time shot with his right foot only to be blocked by Gurwinder Singh.

Despite being under the pump, NorthEast managed three shots on goal but none of those were on target to test Kamalpreet Singh in goal for Pune City.

Pune City then continued to dominate proceedings but they were repeatedly frustrated by good defending.

Despite the momentum turning in Pune City’s favour, NorthEast managed to found the all-important insurance goal though Mascia who converted from the spot after Sahil Panwar clumsily tripped him inside the box and referee  pointed to the penalty spot.

Mascia took on the responsibility of the penalty and placed it nicely to the left of the keeper to secure a vital win for the Highlanders.

Bengaluru: Udanta Singh fired home an 87th minute winner to light up the Fortress as Bengaluru FC beat Delhi Dynamos 1-0 to go three points clear on top of the table and keep the Blues’ unbeaten start to the Indian Super League, intact, at the Kanteerava Stadium, on Monday. Skipper Sunil Chhetri marked his 150th game in a BFC shirt as his side fought tooth and nail until the final whistle to get the better of a stubborn Delhi side.

Delhi could have gone ahead in the 30th minute if it hadn’t been for Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s making himself big to deny Lallianzuala Chhangte from a one-on-one situation. Encouraged by the threat they put the Bengaluru defence under, the visitors attacked with confidence and it needed more of Sandhu’s quality to keep them at bay.

Earlier, Cuadrat chose to start with a shape that seemed like a 4-4-2 with defender Rino Anto being handed his first start this season. With no Dimas Delgado (suspended), Nishu Kumar moved up on the left in midfield, while Chencho Gyeltshen had Chhetri for a partner in attack.

Bengaluru came close as soon as the half resumed when Udanta Singh played the perfect cut-back for Chhetri, but the skipper’s attempt to stroke the ball into the far corner was disappointing by his standards.

Sensing the need to shake things up a little, Cuadrat brought on Erik Paartalu for Rino Anto, prompting Nishu to return to his familiar position at left-back. A second change was made soon after with Semboi Haokip replacing Gyeltshen as the Blues began showing far more purpose than they did in the first half.

Delhi, who were keeping things at the back tight, lost possession after Haokip pressed Gianni Zuiverloon, stole the ball off the Dutchman and picked Udanta. The winger lobbed the ball over the defence to pick Xisco Hernandez’s run perfectly, only for the Spaniard to scuff his attempt on the volley.

With less than five minutes left on the clock, Semboi pressed Zuiverloon once again, this time in an attempt to find space to get a shot away but instead the ball bounced away from goal towards an incoming Udanta, who found himself in space. With time to compose himself, the winger sent a shot goalward that took the slightest of nicks off Marti Crespi before heading towards the bottom corner and shaking the net off the upright to send thousands of BFC fans into a frenzy.

Bengaluru will next face FC Pune City in their first reverse fixture of the League season, at the Kanteerava Stadium, on Friday.