Margao: Ten-man Mohun Bagan played with determination and stunned Dempo by a solitary goal to register their first win of the ONGC I-League at Nehru Stadium, here Friday.

The all-important goal was scored by Jose Barreto in the 50th minute from a penalty.

The win took Bagan’s tally to six points from six matches, while Dempo remain on six from four matches.

In search of their first win, Mohun Bagan got a rude shock when they were reduced to 10 men midway in the first half after defender J. Anandavasan got his second yellow card from referee Pradeep Kumar for a hard tackle on Valeriano Rebello.

However, the setback did not deter them as they played with more determination with medio Rakesh Masih falling back to help the defence.

Jose Barreto and Bhaichung Bhutia combined well and threatened Dempo whenever they found themselves inside the rival box. They were well supported by Ishfaq Ahmed and Marcos Pereira.

After missing a couple of chances, Bhutia earned a penalty in the 50th minute when Rebello pushed him while he leaped high to head a well-directed Barreto cross which was parried by ‘keeper Satish Kumar.

Barreto, who took the penalty, placed the ball past the goalkeeper’s left.

Dempo dominated the second half with a series of raids but their strikers looked sluggish with Mboyo Iyomi and Ranty Martins missing a couple of scoring chances.

Mohun Bagan custodian Sangram Mukherjee, who played in place of the injured Shilton Paul, did well under the bar blocking efforts from Mboyo and Ranty.

Luck did not favour Dempo as Ranty’s header off substitute Clifton Gonsalves’s cross from the left hit the woodwork.

Desperate for the equaliser, Dempo coach Armando Colaco pressed three men upfront, introducing Joaquim Abranches to partner Mboyo and Ranty.

However, the Mohun Bagan defence stood firm and defender Deepak Mandal earned the Man of the Match for his outstanding play on the left. (PTI)