A ten-man Mohun Bagan fought back in the second half to hold Salgaocar to a 1-1 draw in the ONGC National Football League match, at the Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Sunday night.
For Salgaocar, defender Agnelo Colaco scored in the 15th minute. Bagan substitute Dipendu Biswas restored parity in the 81st minute.
Bagan were reduced to 10 men in injury time when defender Eduardo Chacon got his second booking from referee S Suresh for a foul on Samson Singh.
Roberto Fernandes of Salgaocar was declared man of the match for his brave defending.
Both teams, desperately looking for a victory to improve their positions in the league, played an attacking game.
Salgaocar surged ahead in the 15th minute when defender Colaco headed in a well-directed cross from the right by Jerose Oliveira.
Earlier, Bagan 'keeper Imran Khan did well to punch a 40-yard shot from Mickey Fernandes.
Bagan regrouped after the goal and nearly equalised in the 18th minute but Colaco did well to put out a header from Dharamjit Singh.
The match appeared going out of control as both teams preferred to play the man more than the ball till referee S Suresh decided to flash his cards. He booked Salgaocar's Arijit Sengupta, Mickey Fernandes, Bruno De Oliveira and Bagan's Dulal Biswas, Mehtab Hussain, Eduardo and Sanjeev Maria.
Bagan pressed hard in the closing stage of the first half and had glorious chance to equalise but Awudu Ibrahim muffed a chance in front of an open goal, driving the ball over off a headed pass from Sanjeev Maria off a flag-kick taken by Mehtab Hussain.
Hussain, who was more inclined to adopt rough tackling to get the ball, was lucky not to get marching orders. Surprisingly referee Suresh turned a blind eye to his physical play.
Bagan mounted relentless pressure on the Salgaocar goal in the second half in search of the equalizer but was unable to get past the solid Salgaocar defence.
But a lapse in concentration in the 81st minute saw Salgaocar's defence fall, as substitute Dipendu Biswas headed the ball home from a free-kick by substitute Coffi Agbessi.
With today's draw both teams have five points each.
Salgaocar, who have better goal difference than JCT, move to fifth place while Bagan move to seventh.
