Bagan hand Dempo first defeat

Three-time winners Mohun Bagan returned to winning ways, getting past league front-runners Dempo Sports Club 1-0 in an exciting eighth National Football League match in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Putting behind the jinx of three consecutive defeats and turmoil in the club over the absence of Jose Barreto, the Bagan footballers played an inspired game to dominate the Goans at the Salt Lake stadium.

Ashim Biswas, who had additional pressure on his young shoulders in the absence of Barreto, did the spadework for the all-important goal in the 56th minute.

Biswas ran solo down the right, then cut in and centred for skipper Renedy Singh, who headed home from top of the six-yard box. The Dempo defenders were partly to be blamed for the goal as Renedy did his job virtually unchallenged.

Bagan, who looked desperate to come out of the shadow of Brazillian Barreto and the turmoil centering him, played their hearts out, combining well in the middle and carrying out quick raids to unsettle the visitors every now and then.

The hosts, in fact, could have won by a bigger margin but for the woodwork, which intervened twice, besides some easy misses.

In the 29th minute, Renedy's free-kick from the right was headed well by Brazilian Leonardo, but the ball hit the post.

Again, in the 47th minute, Ashim's shot off Hardeep Gill centre ricochetted off the bar, much to the relief of Dempo custodian Abhijit Mondal, who otherwise had an excellent outing today.

With this success, Bagan increased their tally to 14 points from 10 matches while Dempo, who suffered their maiden defeat in the tournament, remained on 20 points from nine games.