Jamshedpur FC's Izu Azuka celebrates after scoring a goal against Mumbai City FC. Photo: ISLJamshedpur: Jamshedpur FC were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Mumbai City FC with Thiago Santos netting two goals for the visitors (24' and 71'), here on Friday. Izu Azuka had earlier sent the home side ahead with two goals in quick succession (43' and 45') after Santos had given Mumbai the early lead.
Alexandre Guimaraes made two changes in the Mumbai City FC starting XI. Amrinder Singh was back in action replacing Arindam Bhattacharya under the bar. Sehnaj Singh, who conceded a red card in the previous match, was replaced by Mehrajuddin Wadoo.
Steve Coppell too made two changes in Jamshedpur’s lineup. Surprisingly, Anas Edathodika was back in action for the Men of Steel as he replaced Andre Bikey in central defence. The other change was Izuk Azuka in place of Bikash Jairu. Azuka’s inclusion meant Kervens Belfort would take Jairu’s position in the left wing.
The first 15 minutes of the match saw complete dominance from the home side. Trindade Goncalves and Kervens Belfort combined well in the attacking third to create numerous chances. Belfort, who had a poor outing against Chennaiyin FC, looked comfortable on the wings in his natural position.
The Mumbai defenders were kept on their toes by the home side’s. The urge to score their first goal on home soil was clearly visible among Jamshedpur players.
Somewhat against the run of play, Mumbai took an unexpected lead in the 24th minute. Brazilian forward Thiago Santos scored his third goal of the season from compatriot Everton Santos’ pass. The move started from Avinash Ruidas’ throw-in which was flicked by Balwant towards Everton. The winger forwarded the ball for Thiago who displayed some exquisite footwork inside the box, dribbling past four defenders before finding the back of the net.
Jamshedpur maintained the pressure on Mumbai even after conceding the opening goal. They created several chances but somehow could not finish them. The away side, on the other, focused on tightening their defence and bank on counter-attacks.
Guimaraes was forced to make a substitution in the 35th minute of the match. Raju Gaikwad, who picked up an injury, was replaced by Zakeer Mundampara. Zakeer’s introduction allowed Gerson Vieira to move back to central defense.
Izu Azuka netted the equaliser for the home team in the 43rd minute from Jerry Mawihmingthanga’s pass. The youngster forwarded a square pass for Belfort who was heavily marked. Belfort missed the ball which fell to Azuka’s feet and he made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
Within two minutes of the equaliser, Azuka netted his second goal of the night to hand his team the lead from Jerry’s assist. Jerry went past Ruidas and provided a sideways pass to Azuka and the striker found the back of the net with a composed finish.
Jamshedpur started the second half with equal zeal and energy. Back to back goals at the stroke of half-time boosted their confidence. Izu Azuka came close to completing his hat-trick twice in the 50th and 51st minute but failed to find the back of the net. His first attempt sailed over the crossbar while his second shot on goal was collected comfortably by Amrinder Singh.
Mumbai’s Thiago Santos silenced the home crowd by completing his brace in the 71st minute from Everton Santos’ assist. Sanju Pradhan initiated the move with a long ball for Everton on the right flank. Everton received the ball and found his compatriot inside the box. Thiago applied a sublime finish to the pass to the visitors back on level terms.
Guimaraes benched Everton Santos just after the goal bringing in defender Marcio Rozario. The substitution clearly reflected Mumbai’s approach as they were happy with a point against an in-form Jamshedpur side. Coppell, on the other hand, made two back to back changes introducing veteran striker Ashim Biswas and Bikash Jairu in place of Jerry and Shouvik Ghosh.
The Men of Steel failed to score a third goal as a win on home soil remained elusive. However, this was possibly Jamshedpur FC’s best performance in this season so far. They played attacking football right from the word go and kept a constant pressure on Mumbai.
