Refereeing howlers once again came into the spotlight as the 2019-‘20 Indian Super League reached the halfway stage on Sunday.

In a seesaw battle for the top spot, Sergio Lobera’s FC Goa reclaimed their place at the summit, riding on Ferran Corominas’s brace to secure a comprehensive victory against Odisha FC.

Bengaluru FC and ATK stayed hot on their heels in second and third place respectively while Jamshedpur remained fourth even as they suffered their first home defeat of the campaign to Mumbai City FC. A first win for new manager Owen Coyle at Chennaiyin FC also spiced up the race for the top four.

Lobera’s men were one of the two teams to register a cleansheet alongside Bengaluru FC who beat NorthEast United in a contest pushed to an early kick-off in Guwahati after originally being scheduled to take place behind close doors.

Elsewhere, the lower half of the table hardly witnessed any changes as Hyderabad FC continued to languish at the bottom after sharing the spoils with ATK where striker Roy Krishna consolidated his spot at the top of the goal-scoring charts. Struggling Kerala Blasters are not too far away, sitting just one spot above them.

As the first half of the season comes to an end, a look at the key takeaways from ISL action in the week gone by:

Normal service for Bengaluru FC

Defending champions Bengaluru FC were keen to prove that their defeat to Mumbai City at home was just a minor blip. And they did that in style as they returned to winning ways, dishing out a superlative performance against NorthEast United.

With Asamoah Gyan sitting out due to an injury, Robert Jarni’s home side already had their task cut out. They were lucky not to concede early on with the defending champions squandering plenty gilt-edged opportunities, including Udanta Singh missing an open goal after hitting the woodwork.

Both teams had drawn in the reverse fixture at the Sree Kanteerava early on during the season and despite the defensive resilience shown from the hosts, where either sides failed to break the deadlock until the 68th minute, Bengaluru’s experience and quality proved just too good.

A Sunil Chhetri penalty and Albert Serran’s header, in the end, helped the Blues record yet another impressive away win.

Away joys continue for Mumbai City FC

The clean sheets at the back may have dried up but Mumbai City are proving to be a tough proposition away from home. The Islanders are yet to face a defeat on the road this season having got the better of Kerala Blasters, Bengaluru FC and now Jamshedpur FC - a team they had never beaten in their past three meetings.

After a bumpy start to the season that was hampered by injuries to key members, Mumbai City remain unbeaten in their last five games and are now fifth in the table.

While the Islanders took time to gel together at the start, coach Jorge Costa has found the perfect balance in his team; possessing an equally strong bench strength capable of making an instant impact.

If they can translate that away run with wins at home, they will be a force to reckon with in the second half of the season.

Heartbreak for Hyderabad FC

How worse could it get for Hyderabad FC? Hosting ATK at home, even nicking out a point against Antonio Habas’ high-flying side seemed like a herculean task but they took it in their stride. And against all odds, nearly outplayed their opponents.

Phil Brown’s men were unlucky to concede a penalty for the opening goal after a horrible refereeing decision where the ball struck Asish Rai’s chest but the officials mistook it for his hand.

However despite trailing 0-1, the league’s newcomers grew into the game, scripted a riveting comeback and almost had three points in the bag, thanks to a brace from striker Bobo. But with minutes remaining, goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh fluffed his lines, allowing Roy Krishna to restore parity.

Languishing at the bottom, luck isn’t going in Hyderabad’s favour this season.

Owen Coyle gets down to business

Chennaiyin FC secured just their second victory of the campaign to deepen Kerala Blasters’ woes, who saw their winless streak stretch to seven games.

Coming out on top in a scrappy four-goal thriller, the two-time champions also revived their chances of somehow making the top four when all hope looked lost a few weeks ago.

The two-time winners didn’t produce the finest of displays but the major positive was to see their front three of Andre Schembri, Nerijus Valskis and Lallianzuala Chhangte clicking together.

India international Chhangte stood out in particular, producing his best display in a Chennaiyin shirt as he wreaked havoc by drifting in between the lines and making threatening runs behind the defense. He also got on the scoresheet, netting his first goal for the club since signing in the summer.

Coyle will hope it’s just the start of many more performances like these from the trio as the league enters its business end.