Favourites JCT tasted defeat in the 10th round of the ONGC I-League here today, after they went down 1-3 to Mahindra United here today.

JCT took the lead in the seventh minute when Eduardo da Silva’s right footer found the net, following a corner kick by Marcos.

But Mahindra came back immediately into the game and three minutes later, Andrews Mensh drew level with a brilliant left-footer.

Coach Derrick Pereira then got into an altercation with the referee and was subsequently given marching orders from the technical area.

But Mahindra did not lose focus and Mensh scored again in the 65th minute. The victory margin was enhanced when Douhou scored in the dying minutes of the match.

In Kozhikode, Viva Kerala defeated Air-India 3-2. After a barren first half, Wisdom Abbey put the home team ahead in the 52nd minute while Khelemba Singh scored off a free kick 11 minutes later to increase the lead to 2-0. Abbey scored the third goal for Viva off a pass from Baba Tunde’s in the 73rd minute.