Fair analysis would only say that a 10-man Mohammedan Sporting were luckless, while East Bengal cashed in on the opportunities coming their way to emerge victorious in the CFL mini-Derby at the Salt Lake Stadium on a rain-soaked Thursday.

The 3-2 victory for East Bengal takes them atop the league table. They have 20 points at present with one more game to play. The pressure now is very much on Peerless SC, as they must win versus NBP Rainbow AC on Friday in order to regain the top spot.

If Peerless drop points on Friday, circumstances become better for East Bengal. They would also be going into their final game, against Calcutta Customs, with a stronger mindset. Looking at the current scenario, Alejandro Menendez Garcia perhaps is right with his observation. “We are the favourites (to win the league). That should be and that is my view,” the East Bengal head coach said.

“I’ve been saying right through that we are improving with every game. Our players showed it again today.”

Slushy ground conditions would be an advantage for Mohammedan Sporting — that was what their technical director Dipendu Biswas had been emphasising till the match eve. The Salt Lake Stadium surface is obviously far better than those at the Maidan, but the rain got heavier and heavier from at least half an hour before kick-off.

Going by Dipendu’s opinion, Mohammedan Sporting should have held an upper hand in those conditions. But there was hardly any penetration in their game in the first quarter. Tirthankar Sarkar, the hero versus Mohun Bagan, looked ordinary during that stage.

East Bengal seized the opportunity and went ahead in the 12th minute with Pintu Mahata’s diving header off Kamalpreet Grewal’s centre from the right. That goal turned out to be a wake-up call for Mohammedan Sporting as they didn’t take much time to equalise.

Seven minutes after Satyam Sharma’s right footer brushed the horizontal, a Kareem Omoloja free-kick was headed into their own goal by Borja Perez, who was attempting a clearance. It was 1-1 after 25 minutes and Mohammedan Sporting were back in the game.

Soon after the own goal, Borja’s knee injury cut short his stay which, in fact, turned out to be a boon for East Bengal.

Relying on their wing play with attacks orchestrated mainly from the right, led by their main man Jaime Santos, East Bengal managed to regain their lead when the Spaniard converted a penalty.

In the 43rd minute, Saiful Rahman tried to clear Jaime’s goal-bound header off Lalrindika Ralte’s corner with his hand and the referee immediately awarded East Bengal a penalty along with a straight red card for Saiful.

Mohammedan Sporting certainly cried foul, but that’s all they could do. And then, 14 minutes into the second half, Ralte luckily got a loose ball on the left and set substitute Marcos Espada, completely unmarked, up with a sitter. Up 3-1, and the game was virtually in East Bengal’s pocket.

Maybe Mohammedan Sporting were a bit late in introducing striker Arthur Kouassi, but the Ivorian did his best to keep the East Bengal defenders on their toes. Eight minutes before end of regulation time, Kouassi reduced the margin off a through ball. Seconds before the final whistle, his cross from the left hit the vertical, with East Bengal and their fans heaving a sigh of relief.