JOIN US A lucky East Bengal on Sunday rode on Tolgay Ozbey’s strike to record a 1-0 win over defending champions Salgaocar and climb to the second position in the I-League.
The win lifted East Bengal to 38 points, eight behind leaders Dempo with five matches left. East Bengal took the lead in the 54th minute when man of the match Robin Singh set up Ozbey, the Australia completing the move with a fine header.
Salgaocar did stage a fightback but luck eluded them. Tamil Nadu referee CR Srikrishna failed to spot a handball by Raju Gaikwad inside the box, denying the Goans a clear penalty in the 69th minute.
In the 87th minute, Salgaocar scored from a goalmouth melee, but the referee thought otherwise in another dubious decision.
Churchill held
Sporting Clube de Goa and Churchill Brothers settled for a 1-1 draw that did neither team any good in the 21st round clash at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on Sunday. Churchill now have 35 points from 20 matches in their kitty while Sporting are left with 31 points from as many matches.
James Moga scored a brilliant header for Sporting in the fifth minute but Churchill Brothers levelled the scores in the 53rd minute through Zakeer Mundampara.
Mandjou Keita (41st) scored the solitary goal of the match as Pune FC edged Pailan Arrows 1-0 at the Balewadi Sports Complex.