Mohammedan Sporting scraped past Indian Bank 1-0 to gain valuable points and improve their position in the lower end of the league table in the eighth National Football League at Kolkata on Thursday.
Dipendu Biswas struck the winner from a penalty in the 73rd minute of the Salt Lake stadium encounter to boost Sporting's tally to 13 points from as many matches.
The penalty was given after a desperate Indian Bank goalkeeper Sebastian Neto brought down Sporting's striker, Edeh Chiddih, inside the box.
Having earned their third victory in the ongoing edition of the tournament, Sporting have climbed to the tenth spot, leaving behind Tollygunge Agragami and Indian Bank. The latter have so far culled a miserly two points from 13 outings to remain in danger of relegation.
The Chennai outfit began the first half well with enterprising moves, but seemed to fade away as the session advanced, with Sporting gradually establishing their grip over the proceedings.
The city club carried out promising moves into the opponent territory, and came close to scoring in the 35th minute as a Bungo Singh corner from the left was followed up with a sizzling back volley by Biswas but the crosspiece stood in the way. Okoli Odafa's rebound finished off-target, much to the dismay of the Sporting supporters in the stands.
The first half, however, finished goalless and a determined Sporting were all over the turf in the second half, with Edeh Chiddih and Biswas drumming up a good combination upfront to repeatedly rattle the bank defenders.
Sporting could have got into the lead as early as the third minute, when Syed Rahim Nabi got the ball in a favourable position inside the rival box, and unleashed a prompt shot, but Neto rose to the occasion and fisted the ball. Biswas failed to take a proper shot on the rebound.
For the visitors, the dynamic Sri Lankan striker Kasun Jayasuriya was the pick of the lot, but lack of midfield support hampered his plans.
Towards the close of the first half, a combined Sporting move found Chiddih in the clear, but the Nigerian dilly-dallied and lost control of the ball.
Accelerating the tempo after the breather, Sporting got a number of scoring opportunities, but had to remain content with a solitary goal win, as their forwards lacked finishing.