Powered by a spectacular Lal Kamal Bhowmick strike, Mohun Bagan got past Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club (HASC) 1-0 in a 10th National Football League match at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Thursday.
The only goal, a quarter into the first session, came after Mehtab Hosain essayed a fine through from the midfield and Baichung Bhutia sold a good dummy to fox the Bangalore outfit's defence.
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Bhowmik, who was following the ball, thundered a 30-yard scorcher that went into the net, giving no chance to HASC goalkeeper Balaji.
With today's victory, Bagan boosted its tally to 12 points from 10 outings, while HASC continue to remain at the bottom of the heap with six points.
The Kolkata giants dominated the 90-minute exchange and created several scoring opportunities but had to be satisfied with the smallest of victory margins, as Bhutia and Surajit Bose failed to score from advantageous positions.
HASC, on the other hand, were left to mostly defend their citadel. They carried out some sporadic raids on the counter but despite the gaping holes in the Bagan defence their moves proved unproductive.
The visitors came close to scoring in injury time as Murali got to the ball with Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee at his mercy, but managed an ill-directed shot that went out.
Bhowmick was the livewire of the Bagan forward line and always threatened the Bangalore side. He was deservedly adjudged man of the match.
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