Jose Ramirez Barreto, surrounded by Eastern Railway defenders, tries a back-flick on Sunday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: The dubious decision could have marred it all, but thanks to the players of both teams, a keenly contested match saw its logical conclusion as Mohun Bagan rallied to beat Chirag United SC 4-3 in a CFL Premier Division tie on Sunday.

The green-and-maroons owe their three points to Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto, who made the difference in the thriller of a match at their own backyard.

It was Shanmugam Venkatesh, however, who put the glamour side ahead in the 14th minute. The equaliser from Biswajit Bhattacharya’s side followed seven minutes later through a spot-kick conversion from African recruit Theo Tore Wrobeh. In a stunner that saw the capacity Sunday crowd fall silent, Sankar Oraon snatched the lead for United SC in the 41st minute.

It took the lemon break for Mohun Bagan to equalise as P.C. Lalawmpuia levelled in the 60th, followed by Barreto’s spectacular goal 10 minutes later. Dharamjit Singh made it 4-2 in the 75th.

The drama was still not over. Safar Sardar reduced the margin, converting another penalty a minute from time. The decision by referee Kashinath Sen seemed a bit dubious.

United SC were clearly the better side in the first session amid heavy rain while Mohun Bagan pulled up their socks after the breather and came out with flying colours.

The 88th minute decision to award the spot-kick to the less-fancied side was unconvincing to say the least. The move could have sparked violence had it not been at the fag end of the match. Police later escorted Sen out of the ground from the side gate.

The green-and-maroons started the proceedings well, getting an early lead when Venkatesh headed home a Barreto floater from the left. But the joy was short-lived as from a goalmouth melee, Peter Odafa’s hands came in the way and United were awarded the match’s first penalty. Theo made no mistake to make it 1-1.

Theo was the only danger for Mohun Bagan defence comprising Habibur Rehman, Peter Siddiqui, Odafa and Rauf Khan. But the African failed to impress. He also didn’t get enough support from teammates.

Against the run of play, United went up 2-1 in the 41st minute after a perfect coordination between Theo and Oraon. Theo, after snatching a ball in the midfield, advanced with Oraon ready for a dummy run. Playing square passes with Theo, Oraon deceived Sangram and slotted the ball home in a clinical finish.

Down 1-2, Mohun Bagan looked a pumped up side after the lemon break. Also the decision to bring in Ishfaq Ahmed (in place of Habibur) clicked for Roberto Carlos Pereira’s side and the match turned on its head.

A low Dharamjit corner was head-flicked nicely inside the six-yard box by Barreto with Lalawmpuia giving the ball just the right direction to restore parity.

In the 70th minute, Barreto did something that only he can. The Brazilian thudded the ball into the roof of the net through an immaculately taken bicycle kick. James Singh’s free-kick from the left was not properly headed by Odafa and the ball suddenly came to the Brazilian who was in no position to shoot.

The much-fancied side went further ahead with Peter Siddiqui heading home from another Dharamjit free-kick.

Then came the decision which ignited the partisan crowd. Asim Das fell down after a collision with Odafa and the referee pointed towards the hot spot for the second time. Fans got furious and the situation could have turned for the worse, but the final whistle came just in time. Stones and bottles were hurled and Sen had to wait for an hour before being whisked away by the police.

TEAMS

Mohun Bagan: Sangram Mukherjee, Habibur Rehman Mondal (Ishfaq Ahmed 46), Peter Siddiqui, Peter Odafa, Rauf Khan, L. James Singh, Suman Dutta (Lalkamal Bhowmick 33), Shanmugam Venkatesh, Dharamjit Singh, Jose Ramirez Barreto, P.C. Lalawmpuia.

United SC: Sibram Dey, Dulal Biswas, Safar Sardar, Kingshuk Debnath, Naru Gopal Hait, Gouranga Dutta, Achinta Saha, Mrinmoy Chakraborty, Asim Das Junior (Surajit Chakraborty 64), Theo Tore Wrobeh (Amit Kumar Kundu 85), Sankar Oraon (Asim Das senior 77).

Referee: Kashinath Sen.