Bhubaneswar: In the end, Odisha FC did well to share points with a 1-1 result against Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Arena on Sunday night.
In a fast-paced opening half, Odisha FC took the lead after 13 minutes through Roy Krishna. As Phurba failed to control a ball from Valpuia, the opportunistic Fijian striker pounced on the rebound to slot the ball into the back of the net.
Odisha’s lead, however, didn’t even last 10 minutes as Greek Nikolaos Karelis levelled scores in the 23rd minute.
The scoreline remained 1-1 when Ahmed Jahouh was shown the red card after 80 minutes. Under immense pressure in front of a rooting home crowd, Odisha defended stoutly for about 20 minutes – including 9 minutes of stoppage time – to share honours in a tough away game.
Odisha, with 8 points from 6 games, sit in seventh place, while Mumbai are ninth with 6 points in 5 games.
