Jatin Bisht and Abhishek Yadav scored a goal each in the second half to help Mahindra United beat State Bank of Travancore 2-1 in a National Football League match in Kozhikode on Monday.
The injury time goal by the bankmen, who failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities that came their way in the first half, only helped them reduce the margin at the fag end.
Mahindra initially allowed SBT to go on the attack but came up with a strong defence, denying the hosts any opportunity.
SBT striker N P Pradeep's two solo runs in the 22nd and 27th minutes could not beat the visitors' custodian, Sandip Nandy, while an ambitious try by Ignatius Sylvester also went wide off the mark in the 32nd minute.
After the break, Jatin Bisht put Mahindra ahead in the 55th minute after collecting a clever pass from Marcos Rodrigo Da Silva.
Even as SBT missed a solid chance to score the equalizer within two minutes, Abhishek Yadav double Mahindra's lead, converting a cross from man of the match Brazilian Flavio Rodrigues in the 59th minute.
SBT tried hard to reduce the margin in the dying moments and scored in injury time through substitute Mohammed Aslam, who smoothly turned to goal a pass by Ignatius.
After 18 matches, SBT looks set for relegation as they continue to lie in the 11th spot with just 13 points.
Mahindra moved to the fourth position with 28 points, ahead of Fransa (26).