Neroca FC defeated Indian Arrows 2-0 in their I-League encounter on Tuesday at the Tilak Maidan Stadium.
Anwar Ali scored an own goal in the 18th minute and a late goal from O. Chidi sealed Neroca's victory over the Arrows.
With 18 points from nine matches, Neroca have cemented their hold on the third spot on the league table. Indian Arrows are on the seventh spot with 10 points from 11 matches.
Kolkata giants East Bengal, meanwhile, was held to a goalless draw by defending champions Aizawl FC during their I-League encounter earlier in the day.
East Bengal have 19 points from nine matches trailing league leaders Minerva Punjab FC by three points. Aizawl rose two spots to settle in at the fourth position, displacing Shillong Lajong FC, with 14 points from eight matches. Lajong are also on 14 points, but went down to the fifth spot due to an inferior goal difference, just one point above sixth place Mohun Bagan.
Strong defence
Edmund, Anwar Ali and K.P. Rahul of the Arrows kept troubling the visitors' defence, but Felix Odili and Subash Singh, in return, were constantly trying to get in behind the Arrows defence line.
With the game evenly poised, Arrows suffered a setback when they conceded an own goal in the 18th minute.
Odili and Subash Singh had half chances while India Arrows were not able to make their way into the attacking third until Rahim Ali nearly equalised. The forward almost got on the end of a beautiful cutback from the right.
There was a late flurry from Indian Arrows but Neroca sealed victory with the last kick of the ball as Felix Odili struck five minutes into added time.
Aizawl FC split points with East Bengal to rise to the fourth spot in the table | I-League via Twitter
Evenly matched
In their match against East Bengal, Aizawl started the better side and had a great chance in the fifth minute when playmaker Andrei Ionescu's cross found Masih Saighani who failed to connect.
Albert Zohmingmawia then set up Alfred Jaryan on the edge of the box after some good spadework but the midfielder's low shot was just wide of the mark.
Albert then turned provider for Lalnunfela a couple of minutes later but the forward failed to sort out his feet quickly and shot wide.
Yusa Katsumi's free-kick in the 25th minute was punched away by Avilash Paul.
After the break, East Bengal were forced into a change early into the second period as Arnab Mondal had to be taken off for Deepak Kumar after going with a hamstring.
The red and golds came close again in the 72nd minute after Al Amna squared up Brandon on the edge of box. The latter's curled first-time shot was aimed at the top right corner but Paul pulled off a stellar save to claw the ball over the bar.
With inputs from agencies
