East Bengal upstaged defending champion Salgaocar SC by a solitary goal in a 21st round I-League match at the Salt Lake Stadium, here on Sunday. Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey scored the winner midway through the second half to ensure full points for East Bengal, which last registered a win against Pailan Arrows in round 15.
East Bengal's win brought an end to Salgaocar's 11-match unbeaten run, where the Goa giant won eight and drew three, picking up 27 out of 33 possible points. The 40-day break did really upset the rhythm of Salgaocar, which put on a mediocre show against a motivated host.
East Bengal gained the greater share of ball possession, but failed to translate that effectively into attacks despite having a three-man offense right from the start.
Having lost 4-0 against the same opposition in the first phase, East Bengal employed an overtly offensive strategy to keep itself in the hunt for the title.
East Bengal had the first look at the Salgaocar goal in the seventh minute, but Baljit Sahni mistimed his effort when he had only the Salgaocar custodian Karanjit Singh to beat. Tolgay too remained wasteful for East Bengal and so did Salgaocar's Nigerian striker Edeh Chidi, whose couple of attempts remained off target.
East Bengal returned with more punch after the break, making regular incursions into the Salgaocar territory. Tolgay had the easiest chance of the match in the 49th minute when a Baljit through-pass saw him unmarked inside the Salgaocar box. But the Australian striker fumbled and sent his angular attempt wide.
Opening goal
Tolgay made amends six minutes later (55th) when he found the net with a sharp header. Salgaocar almost equalised in the 78th minute, but substitute Rino Anto saw his volley cleared off the goal-line by East Bengal midfielder Subodh Kumar.
The win helped East Bengal tally 38 points from 21 matches, while Salgaocar remained on 36 points from 21 outings.
