Jamshedpur FC spurned the opportunity to go within a point of league leaders Mumbai City FC by failing to beat a struggling Bengaluru FC. The Men of Steel were held to a goalless draw by the Blues – who are now winless in seven.
A tough task awaited Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and his defense as they faced an in-form Greg Stewart and Jamshedpur FC at the Bambolim on Monday night. Despite the challenge, Bengaluru came out of the match with a point – but are without the start of the season.
Bengaluru nearly had a perfect start to the game; Udanta Singh raced down the left flank in the ninth minute before delivering a low cross across the box, which was nearly turned past his goalkeeper by Narender Gahlot.
At the other end, Alex Lima dribbled past several Bengaluru bodies before scuffing his shot at Sandhu’s goal. The goalkeeper was called into action for the first time by Stewart in the 25th minute when a cross by the Scotsman nearly landed on the head of teammates Peter Hartley and Jordan Murray, but for a crucial touch by the custodian.
The game’s first big opportunity fell to Cleiton Silva inside the Jamshedpur box, but the forward’s header, off an Ashique Kuruniyan cross, was parried away by TP Rehenesh. The Jamshedpur custodian nearly created a goal for his side as the half edged to a close; his long kick, flicked on by Murray, was collected by Stewart, whose shot was parried to safety at his near post by Sandhu.
Both sides created half-chances from set-pieces after the restart. Hartley narrowly missed the target with his header from a Stewart corner, while at the other end, Prince Ibara couldn’t keep his headed effort down from a free-kick. Bengaluru nearly won the match in its dying moments through substitute Sunil Chhetri, but the Indian captain hit the crossbar with his header from a Kuruniyan cross.
Despite a 0-0 draw, Jamshedpur moved up to second in the table, albeit having played a game more than Hyderabad, Chennaiyin, Kerala Blasters, and Odisha. Meanwhile, Bengaluru sunk to second-bottom; the Blues have played eight – more than any other team in the league – but are winless in seven.
