Bagan down Tollygunge to keep title hopes alive

Mohun Bagan kept their title hopes alive with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over a spirited Tollygunge Aggragami in a 20th round National Football League match in Kolkata on Saturday.

Substitute Uday Konar scored the all-important goal late in the second session to propel the glamour club to the top of the points table again with just two more matches remaining in the high-profile league.

Konar's brilliant effort saved the day for Mohun Bagan, who desperately needed to collect full points after the two teams were locked 1-1 till the last ten minutes of the fast paced contest.

Displaying a new found enthusiasm and determination, Tollygunge shot into the lead midway through the first half with livewire medio Sashti Duley scoring against the run of play.

The surprise goal left nearly 40,000 Bagan supporters in a daze but the smiles returned to their faces when the irrepressible Jose Barreto did the star turn for his team yet again with a stunning header.

Level 1-1 at the interval, it was Konar who turned out to be the hero of the day by scoring the match-winner just in the nick of time for the green and maroon brigade.

With this victory, Bagan regained the top position on the league table. They have 41 points from 20 outings while Tollygunge have 20 from as many matches.

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