A goal each by Wilton Gomes and Dudu Omagbemi in the first half guided Sporting Clube de Goa to a convincing 2-0 win over JCT in the National Football, in Mapusa, Goa, on Friday.
The Goan outfit, which badly needed a victory after suffering three defeats, started in right earnest having a territorial edge over their rivals in the first half.
They took the lead in the 17th minute when a 30-yard long ranger by medio Wilton Gomes caught rival keeper Kalyan Chaubey off guard and found the far corner of the net.
Chaubey, who kept out a header off Joe Rodrigues, was beaten again, this time by Dudu Omagbemi, whose header came off a long lob into the box from Denzil Franco.
JCT, who looked lackluster and were not given much space o operate, came close to scoring once in the first half when Edeh Chidi's left footer off a Renedy Singh flag-kick missed the target by a whisker.
Sporting, who scored their second win from six matches, have seven points while JCT remained on five from as many games.
A visibly happy Sporting coach Clifford Chukuwuma said, "We needed a win today in order to improve our position and I am happy that my boys did not let me down, especially the newcomers who played according to the plan. The win is a morale booster."
Sporting will take on Mohammedan Sporting in its next tie on March 3.
JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh was disappointed with his team's performance.
"I accept the defeat as my boys failed to play to their potential. We will bounce back in our next match."