Kolkata: McDowell Mohun Bagan defeated Kingfisher East Bengal by a solitary goal in the Kolkata Derby at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday. Odafa Okolie made the difference between the two teams when he converted from the spot in the 21st minute.

The penalty was awarded when Uga Opara brought down Sunil Chhetri in the box.

Courtsey the victory, Bagan stay at the second spot with 15 points from six matches while East Bengal stay on 10 points from 6 matches.

A crowd in excess of 90,000 turned up for the match with flags of their respective teams. Bagan started with Sunil Chetri and Odafa upfront while Daniel Zelenzy was handed his debut in the maroon and green jersey after just being registered on Friday.

On the other hand, East Bengal missing the services of Tolgay started with Alan Gow and Robin Singh upfront while Penn manned the midfield.

The first half started with both teams restricting themselves to the midfield in the first ten minutes. In the 10th minute Alan Gow played a short overhead ball to Robin Singh in the box who laid it back for Alan but the Scott was flashed the yellow card for diving.

In the 18th minute, Ukpara made a mistake in the centre back position letting the ball bounce to a free Sunil Chetri in the box and he recovered fast to throw in a sliding challenge which the referee judged as an unfair challenge and awarded a penalty to Bagan. Odafa stepped up to take the penalty and neatly slotted in past Gurpreet the East Bengal goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu.

The second half started with constant pressure on the Bagan goal as they seemed to be content sitting back and defend their lead. Sangram first saved off a Sanju Pradhan shot in the 54th minute even as Alan Gow and Robin Singh kept pushing forward for the equaliser. Sangram was again at his best when he dived full length to keep away a Robin Singh effort from an acute angle.

On the other side, Chhetri missed a golden chance to kill the match in the 78th minute when he failed to tap in a Odafa pass with Gurpreet at his mercy.