Mumbai City FC's Johan Letzelter and Kerala Blasters' Cedric Hengbart fight for possession during their game in Kochi on Wednesday. Josekutty PanackalKochi: Kerala Blasters FC and Mumbai City FC settled for a goalless draw in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday.
The point obtained after the stalemate though kept both teams at their previous positions in the standings with Blasters down at the sixth spot, managing nine points from eight matches. Mumbai drew level on 11 points with third-placed FC Pune City, but remained below them on inferior goal difference.
The first half ended with both team's showing willingness to go forward, but chances created were few and far between.
Both teams were keen to keep possession and wary of getting exposed by a swift opposing counter attack.
Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the pick of the players in the first session, pulling of several saves to deny Blasters.
The home team looked certain to score early through an accurate header from Nigerian midfielder Penn Orji only for Paul to effect a brilliant diving save.
After the breather, both teams went for the win with coaches summoning attacking players to the pitch.
And Paul remained Mumbai's saviour as he continued to thwart Kerala with his superb athleticism and judgement.
The closest both sides came to opening the account was when Mumbai midfielder Tiago Ribeiro's shot hit the post.
The Swiss player took a first-time shot, only to see his effort rebound off the right post.
That pretty much summed up the proceedings of the match.
Kerala take on Delhi Dynamos away on Nov 16 while Mumbai entertain FC Goa on Nov 17 in their next fixture.
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