East Bengal registered their second straight victory in the seventh round of the I-League, beating Air India 1-0 in an away game at the Cooperage. The Kolkata club’s Ghananian striker Abel Hammond headed in a cross from Subhash Singh on the wings in the 29th minute as Air India goalkeeper Arnab Das Sharma stood his ground.

Air India coach Bimal Ghosh blamed the loss on his custodian’s reluctance in getting treated after injuring himself a few minutes earlier. In the 24th minute, Sharma had collided against team mate Behnam Foroughirad and avoided medical attention.

“He should have informed us that he had sustained an injury and that it was serious enough so he couldn’t give his 100 per cent,” Ghosh said later. Sharma was replaced after letting in the goal, but the damage had been done. East Bengal walked away with three full points, recording their first win against a Mumbai side at the Cooperage since 2003.

East Bengal were happy to get their campaign back on track despite the absence of Bhaichung Bhutia. They are currently placed seventh while Air India are 12th.

“It was great that despite the absence of key players like Bhutia, we managed full points. It’s a good result for us,” said East Bengal assistant coach Tushar Rakshit.

Mohun Bagan and Sporting Clube de Goa settled for a 2-2 draw in Goa. Nathaniel Amos and Joseph Pereira were the scorers for the Goans while Branco Cardozo and Carlos Pereira found the target for Bagan.