Riding on the brilliance of striker Eduardo da Silva, JCT stunned Mohun Bagan 2-1 to mark a confident beginning in the I-League at the flood-lit Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Monday night.
After Eduardo found the target in the 13th and 83rd minutes, medio S Venkatesh scored one to salvage some prestige for Bagan during the injury time. Eduardu was chosen man of the match.
Bagan failed to make use of home advantage and were totally off-colour.
While their famed Baichung-Barreto strike partnership failed to click, their defence also cracked under pressure.
Their midfield also remained inoperative with Brazilian Douglas da Silva displaying a poor show.
Barreto, who is yet to recover fully from injury, was replaced by P C Lalampuia, but that hardly improved the situation.
On the other hand, JCT striker Eduardo and medio Baldev Singh (Jr) moved in tandem. The visitors' defense also lived up to expectation with keeper Karanjit Singh making some fine saves.
JCT forged ahead in the 13th minute following a free-kick by Eduardo. They then made a few sporadic moves which went in vain.
The second half saw JCT exerting more pressure on Bagan and the defence cracked in the 83rd minute.
Venkatesh reduced the margin for the home side heading home a cross in injury time.
