With a poor second-half performance, Delhi Dynamos fell to a 4-2 defeat in a tepid, topsy-turvy contest against Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.
Coach Josep Gombau had expressed his concern about the team's inability to see out games; the team would only have exacerbated these concerns on Monday by conceding three goals in the last 34 minutes of play.
Few goals on the night arrived via scintillating runs or by-plays. Instead, the teams made a number of errors and paid the price.
After an encouraging start to the contest, the rot, for Dynamos, began early in the second half. In the 48th minute, Pritam Kotal handled the ball inside his own box; Rafael Bastos made no mistake in the ensuing penalty.
Bastos backed this up by playing the part in getting his team the lead. In the 61st minute, with the crowd of players inside the Dynamos box moving away from it, he struck powerfully from a distance; the ball struck Marti Crespi's head and looped up in the air. It evaded the goalkeeper and found the back of the net.
An equaliser arrived via a set piece, much to the delight of the crowd. Gianni Zuiverloon headed off a corner to have the drumbeats starting again. However, it proved to be a flash in the pan.
Raynier Fernandez made the most of a counter-attack in the 69th minute to pour water to Dynamos hopes, before Paolo Machado struck in the 81st minute to put the contest to bed. Dynamos upped its tempo and almost found a way through in the 85th minute, but it was too little, too late.
Dynamos, in contrast to its second-half performance, played sprightly and well in the first. Within three minutes, it got its reward when it unsettled its opponent; Marcos Tebar, approaching the Mumbai box, passed the ball to Lallianzuala Chhangte to his left. Chhangte attempted to cross but the ball ricocheted off defender Sauvik Chakraborty and into the net.
Dynamos kept up the momentum for a while, conjuring a few more half chances, before the tempo of the contest slowed down as both defending units pulled their acts together.
That Dynamos was the better side in this period was evident in the inability of its opponent to create many clear-cut chances in search of an equaliser. The team had to wait till the 22nd minute for its first real opportunity — the shot, on target, by Rafael Bastos from near the box, was pushed away by goalkeeper Albino Gomes.
Soon after, the team survived a scare. Adria Carmona, finding a lot of space in front of goal from just outside the box, made a mess of his shot.
These, and a few more, were only half-chances. Dynamos could have taken heart from the advantageous position it had, but it would prove little consolation in the end.
Dynamos stays firmly rooted at the bottom of the points table, while Mumbai moved back up to fourth.
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