Former champions Mahindra United got off to winning start in the Federation Cup football tournament, getting the better of JCT Mills, Phagwara, by a solitary goal, at the Nehru stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Thursday.
Despite having a better share of the exchanges the Mumbai champions were unable to convert territorial advantage into goals and could have suffered similar fate as defending champions Dempo on the opening day of the tournament had JCT striker Marcos Pereira beaten goalkeeper Sandip Nady from handshaking distance early in the second half and later Jaswinder Singh been on target.
Mahindra United relied heavily on their newly-acquired striker Jose Barretto to splinter through. The Brazilian looked sharp from the outset and after he bulged the net but was rued off-side in the 12th minute, he was always threatening.
After probing the JCT citadel regularly, N S Manju found the net for Mahindra in the 27th minute. He did well to tower above a crowded goal area and nod home a well-floated corner from Steven Dias.
JCT were more forceful in the second session and kept the Mahindra defenders on their toes. Had Marcos capitalized on that easy chance in the 57th minute the story could have well been different.
Six minutes after that close shave, Mahindra had a good opportunity to increase the lead but there was no one to finish off a great move by Barretto, who was later substituted by Abhishek Yadav in the 76th minute.
In the closing stages JCT exerted pressure but their forwards were unable to unsettle the Mahindra defence.
N S Manju was adjudged the man of the match.
Mahindra United take on Hindustan Aeronautics next, in the quarter-finals.