With the I-League meandering into the final phase,Mohun Bagan scored a much-needed victory to keep their title hopes alive at the Barasat Stadium on Sunday,defeating Dempo SC 2-1. If the Kolkata team manage to upstage Mahindra United in their concluding match,then league leaders Churchill Brothers will have to beat Mohammedan Sporting to take home the trophy. Bagan are currently on 43 points off 21 outings. Dempo remain stuck on 30 points. Jose Barreto opened the scoring in the 28th minute,unleashing a powerful right-footer after a Marcos Pereira pass from the right,and the ball beat Dempo custodian Abhijit Mondal on the near post. But Dempo equalised in the 55th minute through Ranty Martins,who scored with a header bang off an Anthony Pereira floater from the right. Just when a draw appeared to be the most likely result,Mohun Bagan defender NS Manju got the opportunity to fetch the hosts a result. In the 94th minute of the match,he got hold of a cunning chip from Barreto from the left,and headed in the ball to make it 2-1. ONGC go top of second division Gurgaon: ONGC jumped to the top of the table after a 1-0 victory over Sesa Goa in an I-League second division round robin match on Sunday. Mangut Mbwas struck in the 73rd minute to ensure that ONGC walked away with full points. They now have seven points from four matches. Three teams Shillong Lajong,Viva Kerala and Pune FC are tied on six points for the second spot with one match in hand in the six-team competition,from which four will make it to the r I-League.
