Title holders East Bengal rode on an opening minute strike by Brazilian Cristiano Junior to edge past city rivals Tollygunge Agragami 1-0 in the eighth National Football League at Kolkata on Saturday.
Receiving a pass about 15 yards from the goalline, Junior unleashed a snap right footer which swerved and went in to the right of a diving Tollygunge custodian Chinmoy Banerjee, much to the joy of the sizeable number of East Bengal supporters in the galleries.
East Bengal's latest recruit Junior, who now has two goals in two matches, posed constant danger for Tollygunge with his thrustful and probing game, as the red and yellow brigade increased their points tally to eight from five matches.
Tollygunge, who suffered their first defeat in the current edition of the high-profile league, remained on six points from five outings.
The winners dominated the proceedings throughout the match, and created several scoring opportunities, but failed to increase their lead wasting a number of chances.
However, East Bengal looked more formidable in the opening half, carrying planned, swift attacks into the opponent half. Tollygunge tried to launch counter attacks in the initial stages of the second session, but their efforts fizzled out as the match progressed.
Tollygunge, who stunned Federation Cup champions Mahindra United in their previous match, seemed nowhere near their best against the defending champions.
Akeem Abolanle, who had played a pivotal role in shaping the 2-1 victory over the jeepmen, was bottled up by East Bengal's Ghanaian wing back Suley Musah, hereby rendering the Tollygunge attacks venomless.
In the 32nd minute, Alvito D'cunha's free kick from just outside the rival box hit the defensive wall. D'cunha let loose a second shot, and the ball travelled to Musah, whose effort landed in the hands of the Tollygunge goalkeeper.
Seconds before the first half whistle, S Malsawmtluanga and Subhas Chakraborty played a one-two before the former addressed a centre for Baichung Bhutia, whose brilliant header was punched by Chinmoy. The ball dropped on the goalline and Isiaka Abayomi effected a fine clearance.
Bhutia came close to scoring twice in the second session. On the first occasion, the nimble-footed striker latched on to a Junior centre, but Chinmoy came out of charge in the nick of time and narrowed the angle to save his side's downfall.
On another instance, veteran Tushar Rakshit, who came in as a substitute in the second half, fed the Sikkimese whose shot was off-target.
Rakshit himself then attempted a long-ranger which narrowly missed the mark.