Calcutta, March 9 :     SALGAOCAR 1 FC KOCHIN 0 There wasn?t much young Alvito D?Cunha ? being spoken of highly these days ? did right before his 73rd-minute substitution. Failing to poach space in the front third meant that he was kept out of the action for protracted periods today. And more than once he was let down by poor control. But it was this frail Salgaocar striker ? standing out with his mop of unkempt hair ? who made the difference in their Coca-Cola National Super League match, against F.C. Kochin. His 45th-minute left-foot volley, off an intelligent tap from S. Venkatesh, from inside the 18-yard box grazed a tentative Naseem Akhtar?s palm and turned out to be the match-winner. This was his sixth goal in the league. The Goa giants now have 14 points from six matches. Kochin stay at the bottom with one point from the same number of ties. Following JCT?s 5-0 spanking of Churchill Brothers, leaders Salgaocar now have a three-point lead over their nearest rivals. That a hard-fought battle between two of the country?s top clubs was fought before a virtually empty Rabindra Sarobar stadium encapsulates the popularity of Indian football?s richest tournament. Having played the first-leg to full-throated cheers in Goa, the empty amphitheatre must have been quite a shock for Salgaocar. To their legion of supporters, the performance certainly would have been, had they fetched up this afternoon. Salgaocar?s back four and its co-ordination with goalie Juje Siddi certainly has seen better days. Siddi?s 14th-minute bungling with a regulation cross would certainly have had Salgaocar trailing but Mohammed Shafiq shot out despite being in the clear. The neat tapestry of passes with which Salgaocar weave their build-ups too were rarely evident. Coach Shabbir Ali, looking visibly relieved after the match, accepted his charges played below par. ?But finishing with full points in our first match here certainly keeps us on course,? he said. Shabbir, however, said he wasn?t happy with the ground, particularly the bounce. F.C. Kochin, on their part, were handicapped by tardy finishing. Despite controlling most of the second half and even getting the better chances, the equaliser stayed elusive. Noel Wilson worked hard in the midfield but the passes in the front third were inaccurate and shooting wayward. Barring a brave Karunakar Raj left-footer in the 81st minute, Kochin didn?t really trouble Siddi. Raj couldn?t control a breakaway move in the 47th minute. And in the 74th minute, Nitin Pradhan, who seems to be carrying an injury, ballooned over from the six-yard box. TEAMS SALGAOCAR: Juje Siddi; Cowan Lawrence, Roberto Fernandes, Francis Coelho, Khelendro Singh (Sanjay Parte, 59th); Augustine Rodrigues, Jules Alberto, Habib Adekunle, S. Venkatesh; Bruno Coutinho, Alvito D?Cunha (Jude Odegah, 73rd). FC KOCHIN: Naseem Akhtar; Prabhjot Singh, A.S. Feroz, Mahesh Gawali, Mir Farooq Haider; Mohammed Shafiq, K. Naushad, Noel Wilson, K.V. Dhanesh (Roque Barreto, 46th); Karunakar Raj, Mohammed Najeeb (Nitin Pradhan, 67th, Kaustav Ghosh, 85th). Referee: Gopinath Pyne.