With a specter of relegation looming large, East Bengal finally made a turnaround to beat favourites Dempo Sports Club by a solitary second-half goal in their I-League soccer match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Alvito D'Cunha hit the all important goal as East Bengal scored their first win after ninth match.
They are now in the ninth position in the league table with 11 points from 13 outings.
Dempo is still on the lead having collected 27 points from 13 matches. A point behind Dempo is Churchill Brothers who have amassed 26 points from 13 matches.
This win will definitely help East Bengal to come out of the relegation threat to some extent as they are now a point behind Viva Kerala, who have 12 points from 13 matches.
Salgaocar is at the bottom with only 6 points from 13 games.
East Bengal today started with a new vigour and Alvito doing most of the scheming dominated the proceedings mostly in the second half.
While in the first half, both teams preferred to play defensive and gauge each other's strength.
East Bengal had their first opportunity in the 15 minute but Brazilian striker Edmilson off Alvito shot out from close.
The home team had another chance 11 minutes later and it was Edmilson who faulted again shooting over.
Earlier in the 20th minute, Alvito's partner in the mid-field Surkumar Singh had to leave the ground after a tackle with Dempo's striker Randy Martin and was replaced by Dipankar Roy.
The Goan outfit also had their chance around midway in the first half but Samir Naik's attempt off Roberto de Silva was nicely saved by East Bengal custodian Subroto Pal.
East Bengal went all out after the breather and scored the match winner in the 69th minute when they were awarded a free kick.
Following the free kick, Alvito D'Cunha's powerful shot hit Dempo defender Mahesh Gauli's leg and went in amidst roaring cheers from East Bengal supporters (1-0).
Alvito was declared man of the match.
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