Mumbai: Manjit Singh scored in the dying moments to help Salgaocar snatch a 2-1 victory over Mahindra United and avoid relegation in the I-League football.
Coming off the bench only in the 89th minute, Manjit latched on to a pass from the left and took advantage of a slack Mahindra defence to bulge the far corner of the net. In fact, the final whistle came soon after the match winner.
The victory boosted Salgaocar's tally to 30 and they are in the eighth position on the table which is headed by another Goan side Dempo SC who have already wrested the title with a match in hand.
Salgaocar, in fact, made a fine rally to earn a victory over the local outfit which is to be disbanded once the current season is over.
Muritala Ali had headed in a corner in the 29th minute to put Mahindra 1-0 ahead which was neutralised by Ekene Ikenwa of Salgaocar two minutes before the half time.
The spadework for the equaliser was done by Milagres Gonsalves who surged into the box with a defender in hot pursuit and backheeled the ball into the path of Ikenwa who made no mistake.
The loss left Mahindra, who were without key players Steven Dias, Sushant Mathew and D Ravanan due to suspension, at 38 points with one more match left before winding down.
PTI
First Published: Monday, May 10, 2010, 21:46