Margao/Kolkata: Salgaocar FC were held to a goal-less draw against Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan in a third round I-League encounter here at the Fatorda stadium Wednesday.
In another third round I-League encounter in Kolkata, East Bengal edged past a wasteful Bengaluru FC side 1-0 with Abhinash Ruidas scoring the winner in the 53rd minute at the Salt Lake stadium.
At the Fatorda stadium, the first chance fell to Salgaocar four minutes into the game, but Bikash Jairu's shot was easily collected by Bagan custodian Shilton Paul.
Mariner's too had their attempt on the Salgaocar goal in the 13 minute when Haitian striker Sony Norde’s shot fizzed past the bar.
With 37 minutes on the clock, Salgaocar had a penalty shout turned down. Aslon Oliviera was brought down in the Bagan box by Nigerian defender Bello Razaq but the referee was not convinced.
Both sides went into the break with the scoreline reading 0-0.
After the breather, it was Bagan striker Balwant Singh who let fly a strong right footer but Subrata Paul, the Salgaocar custodian thwarted the attempt and then saved another strong shot from Pritam Kotal a few minutes later.
A Bagan goal was, however, disallowed by the referee just before the hour mark as Paul's attempt to gather the ball was not fruitful after a clearance from Salgaocar defender Gurjinder Kumar found the back of his own goal, but the referee called for a foul against Singh.
Thereafter, the hosts wasted a lot of opportunities to seal the game, one such fell in the way of Zakeer Mundampara whose shot went over the cross bar and for Bagan it was their Japanese medio Katsumi Yusa who failed to hit the target from inside the box.
The result leaves Bagan with four points from their opening two games while Salgaocar have failed to win in their first three, managing two points from three outings so far.
In Kolkata, the first half saw both sides coming close to breaking the deadlock, but none could break through including a delightful chip from Benguluru striker Englishman Josh Walker which was denied by the woodwork.
After the break, the Red and Gold created a couple of half chances which weren't converted.
However, eight minutes after half-time Ruidas found himself at the end of a Deepak mondal cross from the right which saw Nigerian striker Ranti Martins get a touch, and the former slotted the ball home, escaping a challenge from Rino Anto.