Shillong: Rangdajied United FC had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Mumbai FC in the 15th round of the I-League played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Sunday.
Yohei Iwasaki once again gave the host a much deserving lead in the 19th minute to be cancelled out by the veteran striker Yusif Yakubu in the 36th minute.
Both the side took little time to settle down but the home team recovered faster and tested the Mumbai defence on several occasions.
In the 18th minute, Munmun Lugun found Edmar Figueira unmarked inside the box and put across the ball for him. But the Brazilian took little time in taking the shot as it was blocked by a rushing Mumbai FC defender for a corner.
The ensuing corner however brought cheers to the nearly filled up crowds of the JN Stadium as Iwasaki headed in the ball. Munmun sent in a good kick at which the Japanese rose above everyone else to give Rangdajied United a sniff at another victory.
Efforts to double the lead continued and the visitor's defence were tested time and again. In the 26th minute, Manandeep pounced on a loose clearance just to see his shot block by a rushing defender.
However, much against the run-of-play, Mumbai FC restored parity through the dangerous Nigerian striker Yusif Yakubu. He latched on to a perfect through ball on the left, get passed two defenders before slotting the ball into the net, giving Subrata Paul no chance.
Iwasaki then had another shot at the goal from 30 yards out in the dying minutes of the 1st half, but the alert Nidhin Lal comfortably kept the ball safe to go into the lemon break 1-1.
The 2nd half was rather slow and both the teams played safe. But it was Rangdajied United again who came close to scoring in the 65th minute when Edmar's header was saved in a controversial manner by Nidhin Lal. The host were convinced that the ball had crossed the line but the referees refused to buzz on the protest.
Later on, Sandesh Jhingan, who was supposed to play for Rangdajied but eventually joined Mumbai FC was shown the red card. The Blues however couldn't take the numerical advantage and eventually had to settle for just one point.
With this draw, Rangdajied United now have 12 points from 14 games and are just above Churchill Brothers in the pecking order. Interestingly, Rangdajied will next travel to Goa to face Churchill Brothers on 22nd December.
