CHENNAI: It was a game of two halves as Odisha FC and Jamshedpur FC played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Tilak Maidan on Sunday.
Jamshedpur were the dominant team in the first half, opening up a two-goal lead only to be pegged back right at the death. The draw means both teams are yet to win in two games, and have a solitary point from their outings so far. Odisha coach Stuart Baxter will be the happier of the two managers after seeing his side show some fighting spirit in the second period.
The start, however, was far from satisfactory. Odisha were slow, ponderous and the familiar defensive frailties were again on show and last season's golden boot winner Nerijus Valskis punished them for it.
The floodgates opened in the 12th minute after defender Gaurav Bora used his hand to stop the ball from going over the line and referee Pratik Mondal pointed to the spot and the spot kick was duly converted by the Lithuanian. The second goal came in the 27th minute after Shubham Sarangi's attempted back header was pounced upon by Valskis and he made no mistake as Owen Coyle's men took a dominant two-goal lead.
Going into half-time, a comeback did not seem that probable. But the Odisha players started promisingly, drawing two good saves from opposition goalkeeper TP Rehenesh. But his 74th minute sending off for handling the ball outside the box changed the complexion of the match.
Substitute Diego Mauricio struck the resulting freekick against the post, but the ball soon found its way back to him and he was able to bundle it in to set up a grandstand finish. And that finish was provided by the substitute yet again in the 93rd minute as he cut in from the left to unleash a rocket into the top corner to draw his team level and ensure the spoils were shared as both teams got off the mark this season.