Cristiano Junior's strike midway through the second half enabled defending champions East Bengal beat Mumbai giants Mahindra United by a solitary goal in a seventh round National Football League match at the Cooperage, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.

The Brazilian striker latched on to a pass from Baichung Bhutia in the 68^th minute to bulge the net from close and notch his fourth goal of the league.

With the victory, East Bengal swelled their points tally to 11 from seven matches while Mahindra United remain on 12 points.

The Mumbai champions held more possession in the first half and could have taken the lead in the second minute, but Abhishek Yadav's header following a corner kick hit the post.

Mahindra continued to hold ascendancy but failed to make any impression on the East Bengal goal.

The Kolkata giants had an opportunity to forge ahead in the 33^rd minute but Surkumar Singh, substituting for Sasti Duley, was unlucky to see his shot crash into he crosspiece.

Mahindra came close to scoring in the 37^th minute when Abhishek Yadav headed to an unmarked Kasif Jamal, who hit out.

Bhutia, who had an unimpressive first half, missed a scoring opportunity when he shot into Chaubey's hands following on a brilliant cross from Junior in the 40th minute.