Patrick, who was adjudged MoM, and Rodrigue (top), who scored a brace

Margao: Mohammedan Sporting survived and in what a style they did it!

When just a draw was needed, they sparkled and produced inarguably the most scintillating display of the season, when they triumphed 4-1 over the bottom-placed Salgaocar in their final match of the National Football League for the ONGC Cup on Saturday.

The result meant Mohammedan Sporting finished the league with 17 points while Salgaocar (with 12 points) ? the 1997-98 champions ? had to suffer the ignominy of demotion.

It was also a big relief for Subhas Bhowmick. The former East Bengal coach surprised many by taking charge of the beleaguered side after an interregnum following personal problems. Since then his side lost all four matches and conceded as many as 11 goals, going into the match. Things, thus, finally fell in place for him.

Mohammedan Sporting started positively and surged ahead in the 14th minute. Patrick Okonji received a pass inside the box from Mohammed Mukhtar and dodged past a couple of defenders and ’keeper Sangram Mukherjee before slotting the ball into the net.

Another foreigner Gley Yao Rodrigue then extended the lead 10 minutes after the breather when he slammed the ball in after Patrick split the defence with a through pass.

Salgaocar could have easily scored a couple of goals in the first-half but Jyothi Kumar and Ashim Biswas failed to direct their shots on target.

Substitute Satyajit Bose, however, killed off the match for Salgaocar when he headed home a cross from the right by Mukhtar in the 70th minute.

Rodrigue rounded off the tally for Mohammedan Sporting in the 82nd minute. Fabio scored a consolation goal for the hosts in the 87th minute through a penalty after Satyajit tripped Ashim inside the box.

Patrick was later adjudged the Man-of-the-Match.

No wonder Bhowmick was a happy man after the win. “I just can’t express my feelings? since we both were sailing in the same boat,” he said.

Salgaocar coach Savio Medeira said that his team failed to live up to expectation. “We will try to come back like Dempo and Churchill who were earlier relegated in the second tier of NFL.