Bagan defeat E Bengal to move out of relegation zone

Kolkata, Apr 15 (UNI) Mohun Bagan got a huge breather moving out of the relegation zone after defeating arch-rivals East Bengal 2-1 in the 11th ONGC National Football League match at the the Salt Lake stadium here today.

Douglas da Silva struck the winner, eight minutes from the final whistle, to inflict a crushing blow to East Bengal's title hopes. He followed a Lalkamal Bhowmik cross from the corner to head home from the top of the six yard box with no one to challenge him.

Earlier, Brazilian Edmilson Marques put East Bengal in the lead from a well taken penalty in the 30th minute after Sylo Malswamtulunga was brought down by custodian Shilton Paul.

Mohun Bagan drew parity right at the stroke of half time through a Jose Ramirez Barreto header off a Mehtab Hossain cross. If the first half had some good competitive football to offer from both sides, in the second half East Bengal were no where to be seen.

Special guest, Fifa president Joseph Blatter seemed to enjoy every minute of the match.

The otherwise well managed event, however, was marred by pandemonium after the final whistle, as a few of the East Bengal fans vented their frustration on Mohun Bagan's president Satya Sadhan Bose by showering him with abuses and bottles.

Later at a Press conference, Mr Bose, along with singer Babul Supryo (who was also present during the skirmish) and secretary Anjan Mitra showed their displeasure. ''How is it that the entire VIP stand has only East Bengal supporters? I call for an enquiry on the matter right away,'' said an infuriated Mr Mitra.

Teams: Mohun Bagan: Shilton Paul, Dulal Biswas, Sanjeev Maria, Deepak Mondal, D Ravanan, Douglas Silva, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Mehtab Hossain (Suman Dutta 88), Lalkamal Bhowmick, Jose Ramirez Barreto, Baichung Bhutia (PC Lalampuia 86) East Bengal: Abhra Mondal, Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Christiano Oliveira, M Suresh, Saumik Dey, S Malaswtlunga, Chandan Das (Sovan Chakraborty 70), Jayanta Sen, Alvito D'Cunha, Bonniface Ambani (Ashim Biswas 82), Edmilson Marques (Snehashis Chakraborty 45).

UNI