Dudu Omagbemi (left) gets a pat from Joseph Pereira after scoring Sporting Clube de Goa?s first goal on Monday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami, dying and virtually certain to face relegation, did a world of good for fellow city rivals East Bengal on Monday.

They held Sporting Clube de Goa 2-2 in their 19th round match of the National Football League, thereby providing the defending champions with an opportunity to open up a three-point lead in the battle for the ONGC Cup. East Bengal, having played a game less, are tied with the Goan rivals on 39 and will face Salgaocar in their next match.

Akeem Abolanle gave Tollygunge a 32-minute lead. But Dudu Omagbemi equalised through a debatable penalty within two minutes.

As Wilton Gomes, on receiving a left-wing Joseph Pereira floater, turned, he came face to face with Saumik Dey and fell. The referee Dinesh Nair pointed to the dreaded spot and Dudu smartly converted. The Nigerian, thus, became the fourth player to score 50 goals in the NFL (including the second-division competition) after Bhaichung Bhutia (94), Jose Ramirez Barreto (81) and Yusif Yakubu (81).

He extended that tally further in the 66th minute, cashing in on a dreadful defensive lapse in the Tollygunge box. Substitute Gouranga Dutta made it all square with nine minutes to go, heading home a right-wing cross from another substitute, Pankaj Basak.

Sporting will now return to Goa with 39 points, while Tollygunge have crawled to 16.

If the presence of about 1000 East Bengal supporters at the Salt Lake Stadium urging and cheering every move of Tollygunge players, carried an optimism, it was all the same noticeable in Subhas Bhowmick?s desperate bid to hide emotions as he watched the advantage pinging back and forth for both teams in the match.

In the end, Tollygunge secretary Mantoo Ghosh shook hands with Bhowmick and Tollygunge coach Biswajit Das returned to the dressing room on the shoulders of East Bengal supporters. It could have been more symbolic and therefore welcoming for the NFL leaders had Tollygunge failed to notch up full points against the Goan visitors.

In the home team?s every move was a purpose, in every attack a desire to kill, in every stride a fighting spirit. All these qualities mingled together to give Tollygunge a competitive edge that Sporting were sometimes found idealess to negotiate with.

Suley Musah looked keen to put the officials? distrust on him behind with a decent show. He and Isiaka Awoyemi kept a close vigil on Dudu and Chidi Edeh.

There was then one Surajit Bose, arguably the most stand-out performer in the match. It?s another matter that the Man-of-the-Match award went to Akeem, but Surajit acted as the all-important conduit between Tollygunge moves and their desired ends.

He set Akeem free with a perfectly-timed pass for the first goal and wisely fed Pankaj for his cross, which eventually resulted in his team?s equaliser.

Suman Dutta (Jr) found his right-footed attempt going out after hitting the far post while Akeem was unable to keep cool twice inside the rival box, volleying off the target.

Tollygunge goalkeeper Sudip Sarkar, however, played a foil to his teammates? spirited show. He conceded the second goal by not going for a harmless long ball from the middle, resulting in a miscommunication with Musah. He also invited dangers with a couple of ill-timed outings, but Dudu & Co. failed to take advantage of them.

Match official falls sick

Chamchuk Lama of Sikkim, who was to officiate as the fourth referee, fell sick before the match. ?He was complaining of dizziness in the heat and also vomiting. So he was taken to a hospital for medical check-up. He?s in fine shape now,? said an IFA official. The match commissioner Rabi Shankar had to serve a dual role, taking Lama?s seat during the match.

Teams

Tollygunge Agragami: Sudip Sarkar; Santosh Singh, Isiaka Awoyemi, Suley Musah, Debkumar Sasmal; Saumik Dey, Suman Dutta Jr (Pankaj Basak 75), Chinmoy Sarkar (Gouranga Dutta 46), Surajit Bose (Ramu Adhikari 88), Suman Dutta Sr, Akeem Abolanle.

Sporting Clube de Goa: Luis Barreto; Jithesh Kuzhiyil, Felip Gomes, Suresh David, Rajesh Meetei, Wilton Gomes, Nicolas Rodrigues (Peter Parreira 68), Joseph Pereira (Joe Rodrigues 46), Bibiano Fernandes, Chidi Edeh (Nicolau Borges 57), Dudu Omagbemi.

Referee: Dinesh Nair (Gujarat).