Ratings: Hitesh Sharma stars as Mumbai City, Hyderabad FC share spoils

The match could have seen two red cards in the first half itself.

Mumbai City played out a 1-1 draw against Hyderabad FC at the Mumbai Football Arena (MFA) on Saturday. The Islanders opened the scoring through a spot-kick by Jorge Pereyra Diaz but the visitors equalized with a goal by Hitesh Sharma in the 65th minute. The draw helps Des Buckingham’s men maintain their seven-point lead over the Nizams going into the final three games of the campaign.

Here are the player ratings for both teams from the game.

Mumbai City (Tarkesh Jha)

Phurba Lachenpa – 5

Phurba arguably over-committed by coming ahead too early to save Hitesh’s shot that led to Mumbai City giving away their lead. He didn’t face any other shot on target otherwise.

Sanjeev Stalin – 5.5

Sanjeev made a couple of successful interceptions and a clearance to round off a fairly decent defensive performance from the right-hand side of the backline.

Mehtab Singh – 6

Mehtab made five tackles along with two clearances and an interception to keep the Hyderabad FC attackers at bay for the major portion of the game.

Mourtada Fall – 5.5

Fall played from the heart of the backline to add further solidity to Mumbai’s defensive unit. He made three clearances and a tackle but was caught a bit off-guard during the move that led to Hyderabad’s equalizer.  

Vignesh Dakshinamurthy – 5.5

Vignesh tackled twice but the duo of Mohammed Yasir and Hitesh managed to break through him from Mumbai’s left flank to help Hyderabad crawl their way back into the game.

Rostyn Griffiths – 5.5

Griffiths attempted six tackles and two clearances to go with an 89 per cent passing accuracy. Received a yellow card early in the game.

Lalengmawia Ralte – 6.5

Apuia made four tackles along with an interception and a clearance each. He created three goal-scoring opportunities to round off a convincing all-round performance from the centre of the park.

Alberto Noguera – 6

Noguera added an incisive edge to Mumbai City’s offensive moves with his cross-field passes helping the home side break Hyderabad FC’s iron-clad defensive structure. The Spaniard tackled four times and created three goal-scoring chances in 90 minutes.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – 6

Chhangte put in an industrious shift, taking two shots and creating a couple of goal-scoring opportunities too! He toiled hard to recover the ball and took on Akash Mishra with purpose many a time during the game.

Bipin Singh – 6.5

Bipin had an industrious outing as he perhaps assumed greater responsibility in the absence of Greg Stewart. He glanced four shots at goal, out of which only a solitary one landed on target.

Jorge Pereyra Diaz – 6.5

Diaz put Mumbai City ahead in the game with a composed finish from the spot in the 23rd minute. However, the Argentine made a mess out of a cross from the left flank.

Substitutes

Rowllin Borges – 4

Borges didn’t really have to make any significant contributions on either half of the pitch in the 22 minutes of action.  

Greg Stewart – 5

Stewart took a shot on target, crossed twice and displayed some fine footwork to try and force Mumbai’s way back in the game in his mere 12-minute-long substitute appearance.

Vikram Pratap Singh – N/A

Hyderabad FC (by Waseem Zaidi)

Gurmeet Singh (GK) - 7.0

Gurmeet Singh made an incredible save late in the game to deny Greg Stewart from scoring a likely winner. He made three saves overall and could not do a lot to stop a powerful penalty scored by Jorge Pereyra Diaz.

Nikhil Poojary - 6.5

Nikhil Poojary’s close watch on Bipin Singh produced a lot of interesting duels. However, the full-back handled the ball inside his own box to give away a penalty. Eventually, it overshadowed his otherwise decent performance where he created two scoring chances for the team.

Nim Dorjee - 6.0

Nim Dorjee made four clearances and three blocks in a solid defensive performance. His consistency is worth applauding.

Odei Onaindia - 6.5

Odei Onaindia led the defence astutely. The centre-back could have done better in a few situations, including a late individual error inside his own penalty area that almost led to a goal by Stewart.

Akash Mishra - 7.0

Akash Mishra’s duel with Lallianzuala Chhangte was heavily entertaining to witness. Both players were pushing each other to the limit. By the final whistle, Mishra had four successful tackles. His defensive performance was crucial to Hyderabad FC stealing a point.

Borja Herrera - 6.5

Borja Herrera looked slightly uncomfortable in midfield and was unable to influence the flow of the game. Although he made five crosses and three interceptions, Hyderabad FC fans have seen better displays from the Spaniard.

Hitesh Sharma - 8.0

Hitesh Sharma scored his first goal of the season and brought Hyderabad FC on equal terms with a sublime right-footed finish. Furthermore, the midfielder was busy in the central part of the field, making eight tackles before leaving the game.

Rohit Danu - 7.0

Rohit Danu was adventurous and gave Sanjeev Stalin a lot of trouble on the left flank. He was pulled down while running behind the defence which should have seen Stalin get sent off. A promising hour-long performance from the youngster. 

Joel Chianese - 5.5

Joel Chianese could not impact the game as he would have hoped to. The creative midfielder did not create any scoring chances for his team and completed only 14 of his 21 passes.

Mohammad Yasir - 7.0

Mohammad Yasir was one of the most confident players on the pitch. His dribbling was a joy to witness. The winger provided the assist for Hyderabad FC’s equaliser. 

Bartholomew Ogbeche - 5.5

Mumbai City FC kept a close watch on Bartholomew Ogbeche who left his shooting boots in the locker room. The striker was wayward with his attempts on a few occasions. He did not get a single shot on goal and had to fall deep to contribute to the build-up.

Substitutions

Halicharan Narzary - 7.0

Halicharan Narzary made an instant impact after coming on as a substitute. His presence on the left wing gave Hyderabad FC an added source of threat while going forward. He created one scoring chance and saw a shot blocked.

Javier Siverio - 6.5

Took part in the game in the second half in order to help Ogbeche upfront. He had four touches on the ball.

Sahil Tavora - 5.5

The midfielder made his usual appearance from the bench to inject more energy into midfield. He was strong in duels and made two successful tackles.

Abdul Rabeeh - 6.5

Came on late in the game to help his team take away a positive result. However, he did not get enough time to make a positive impression.

Aaren D’Silva - N/A