Mohammedan Sporting put up a dismal show but still managed to open their account, holding Vasco Sports Club to a goalless draw in a lacklustre eighth National Football League match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Desperately seeking a victory in their first home match after three losses, Sporting tried to go on the offensive from the very start of the game but instead presented shameful soccer before a sizeable crowd at the Salt Lake stadium exchange.
With this draw, Sporting culled one point from four matches while the Goans tallied six points from four outings.
Notwithstanding their unimaginative display, the Kolkata outfit found three chances coming into their way but failed to convert any of those, mainly due to their excessive reliance on striker Edeh Chidi who was tightly marked by the visitors.
The Nigerian, in fact, was guilty of wasting the best opportunity in the 80th minute when he failed to head home from close, a Zahir Abbas long cross from the middle.
The hosts proved unlucky in the 63rd minute when Khaled Siddiqui's header off a Dipendu Biswas lob hit the far post.
Biswas was no better in the upfront and let go the only positive chance created before the breather. The veteran striker, fed by a through from Chidi inside rival box, lobbed the ball over an advancing Vasco goalie Rogerio Ramos, only to see the ball breeze over the cross-piece in the 16th minute.
Vasco, who primarily aimed for a draw, focussed too much on keeping their citadel secured with only medio Denis Cabral showing some initiative to carry out counter-attacks.
Vasco, who have earlier drawn against other two city giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, once came close to scoring in the second half.
But substitute Sukhbinder Singh's 30-yard grounder had an awkward bounce just in front of Sporting custodian Gumpe Rime and changed its track towards the goal. Rime, who spent most part of the game as a mere spectator, showed his agility as he promptly dived to his right to save the ball for a corner.
Earlier, in the 53rd minute, Vasco's Ebson Castro unleashed a sudden right footer from top box but in vain.
The rest of the match could be described as a sad commentary of mistakes, miss-passes and making a mess in the middle by both the teams.
The performance might raise frown of the coaches, but the result was not that heartbreaking as the hosts earned their first point and the visitors also succeeded in bagging their targeted one point from the first away match.
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