East Bengal beat local opponent Chirag United SC 2-1 in its concluding I-League assignment here on Wednesday to seal the runner-up spot in the country's premier inter-club contest.
Sushant Mathew and Tolgay Ozbey found the target for the winner while Sunil Chhetri reduced the margin for United SC.
East Bengal, which had lost its title hopes after stumbling in the home stretch with two losses and a draw from the previous three encounters, managed to salvage some honour with the win. The result helped it finish behind champion Salgaocar SC of Goa after Dempo SC failed to stake its claim for the second spot going down 4-2 at home to HASC.
Looking for a winning finish, East Bengal went into the attack from the start and found the lead in the 19th minute when Mathew scored off a rasping long-ranger. After midfielder Mehtab Hossain saw his free-kick missing the mark by a whisker at the half-hour mark, East Bengal doubled the lead in the 39th minute through Tolgay. The Australian saw his snap attempt coming good as United SC defender Arnab Mondal provided further assistance with a miscued clearance.
East Bengal earned a couple of scoring opportunities after the break but striker Baljit Sahni failed to provide the finish on both the occasions.
Chhetri, the National team striker whom United SC acquired in the middle of the season, brought some cheer to his side reducing the lead with a low left-footer in the 64th minute. East Bengal tightened its vigil in the defence thwarting any further alteration to the scoreline. East Bengal finished its campaign tallying 51 points from 26 matches, while United SC, on 29 points, finished eighth in the 14-team contest.
Golden Boot for Martins
Meanwhile, Dempo SC striker Ranty Martins walked away with the Golden Boot award after scoring the highest number of goals (30) this season.
The result: East Bengal 2 (Sushant Mathew 19, Tolgay Ozbey 39) bt Chirag SC 1 (Sunil Chhetri 64).
