Match officials plead with red-carded Okolie Odafa to leave the pitch; Mumbai FC secure draw.
Mumbai FC did themselves a small favour by collecting a point against Churchill Brothers to crawl out of danger zone after securing a goalless draw in their penultimate I-League match at the Cooperage here on Monday.
A win against Mohun Bagan will ensure safety for the Khalid Jamil-tutored side; else they must rely on Salgaocar to beat Shillong Lajong in the final round matches to be held in the last week of May.
With 26 points, Mumbai FC are now 12th in the table, level on points with Lajong. However, the Shillong boys find themselves in the drop zone courtesy an inferior goal difference. Churchill (39), meanwhile, have made the second place theirs, going a point ahead of Mahindra United.
The match was an extremely drab affair. Both teams cancelled each other out on most of the occasions and the battle was locked in the midfield. It was always going to be difficult for Mumbai to get the better of Churchill. They found the net twice but much to their dismay were denied by the referee on both occasions.
Churchill got the best chance of the match in the 67th minute. Kalu Nnanna’s through ball from the centre found Felix Chimaokwu, who beat the defenders and brought himself to a one-on-one with Mumbai FC ‘keeper Nidhinlal AC. The goalie parried away Felix’s powerful shot.
The only exciting moment — from the crowd’s perspective — came during the injury time. Much has been said and written about the lack of authoritativeness on the part of the referees in the I-League. Another demonstration of it was witnessed on Monday.
Churchill skipper Okolie Odafa was given marching orders by referee Shaji Kurian in the 92nd minute. I-League top scorer Odafa, who had a forgetful match, was in no mood to oblige the officials. After arguing with the referees, he went as far as the team dug out and stood there.
When asked by fourth official Dhanpati Ray, the Nigerian didn’t budge. So ridiculous did the entire sending-off procedure become that the referee, the fourth official and the assistant referee had to plead with Odafa to leave the pitch. He finally did leave, only after being told by his coach Carlos Pereira, not the referees, who are suppose to be the men authorised to take care of such situations!
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