Akeem Abolanle (right) and Jiten Rai after Wednesday’s conquest of Mahindra United at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: An inspired Tollygunge Agragami pulled off the biggest surprise of the National Football League so far, accounting for fancied Mahindra United 2-1 at Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.

Stung by the visitors’ lead through Raphael Patron Akakpo, Krishnendu Roy’s team came back strongly, firing all cylinders. They settled the issue, thanks to second-half strikes from Akeem Abolanle and Jiten Rai.

Mahindra United’s woes were further compounded when their right-back Sanjay Parte was marched off after knocking down Tollygunge midfielder Biman Mondal.

It was a motivated display all along from the home team and at no point of time did they look overawed by their star-studded opponents, who have defeated both Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting in the league and East Bengal in the Super Cup.

Even when Akakpo cashed in on a mistake committed by rival ’keeper Chinmoy Banerjee in the 16th minute, Tollygunge responded with a brilliant, inspired display of attacking football.

Within five minutes, they came close to equalising on as many as four occasions. One of the chances needed a goalline save from Covan Lawrence. But that spell was probably the prelude to a more audacious Tollygunge Agragami, who exploded in a vintage show after the change of sides.

After surviving a close call in the 49th minute, when Jules Alberto was apparently tripped inside the box but the referee waved play on, Tollygunge Agragami finally found the target. Akeem was allowed a free header after goalkeeper Kalyan Chowbey misjudged a Biman Mondal free-kick.

In the 57th minute came the winner — inarguably the defining moment of the match. When Jiten got hold of a ball outside the box, he was circled by at least three rival players. But the diminutive player took a deceptive turn and with a sudden burst of pace, steered clear of two other defenders before unleashing a left-footer that went in past Chowbey’s outstretched left hand.

Tollygunge Agragami's matches against East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting have been advanced by a day. They will now be held at Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.

TEAMS

Tollygunge Agragami: Chinmoy Banerjee; Kabijit Khotel, Isiaka Awoyemi, Ebi Bar Bar, Amitabha Chanda; Biman Mondal (Chinmoy Sarkar, 82), Sandip Das, Shamsi Reza, Jiten Rai (Manik Barman, 65); Gauranga Dutta, Akeem Abolanle.

Mahindra United: Kalyan Chowbey; Sanjay Parte, Arun Malhotra, Covan Lawrence, Odarte Lawson; Rauf Khan, Khalid Jamil, S. Venkatesh (James Singh, 70), Jules Alberto (Steven Dias, 70); Raphael Patron Akakpo, Syed Altafuddin (Abhishek Yadav, 66).

Referee: T. Pradip Kumar.

Barreto boost for Bagan

Mohun Bagan will take heart from Jose Ramirez Barreto’s return to action against Vasco SC in their NFL clash on Thursday. The Brazilian, who missed the Indian Bank tie due to a double booking, is likely to be paired with Ashim Biswas upfront as coach Aloke Mukherjee eyes full points against the Goan outfit. Despite his injury not having healed fully, Mohun Bagan captain Rennedy Singh insisted he would be able to start.

Vasco coach Derrick Pereira felt his team had severely suffered by the exodus of several key players in the transfer market. He added a draw was what he would be looking for.