Mahindra United scored late to hold Tollygunge Agragami 1-1 in a National Football League match in Kolkata on Friday.

Despite the point Tollygunge stayed in the relegation zone.

Surojit Bose put Tollygunge ahead in the first half, but M S Manju found the mark in the 77th minute to deny the Kolkata side full points at the Salt Lake stadium.

After 20 matches, Mahindra have 29 points, while Tollygunge continue to languish in the last but one spot with 17 points.

Other teams at the lower end of the table are Churchill Brothers (21 from 20 matches), Mohun Bagan (18 from 19) and last-placed State Bank of Travancore [Get Quote] (15 from 20).

Tollygunge drew first blood in the ninth minute following a counter attack, which saw an unmarked Bose get the ball in the clear. With Mahindra goalkeeper Sandip Nandy sensing danger and charging out, Bose kept his cool and lobbed the ball over the keeper's head and into the net.

The setback prompted Mahindra to go all out into attack, but the Tollygunge defenders gave a gritty display to deny the visitors an equaliser till half-time.

But with Tollygunge going more and more into the defensive shell, Mahindra easily controlled the midfield and launched continuous raids.

The Tollygunge defence finally caved in 13 minutes from close as right back Steven Dias went on the overlap and essayed a measured centre to M S Manju, who had also gone up from his stopper-back position to assist the frontliners, who made no mistake in tapping the ball into the net.