Mohammedan Sporting Club concluded their I-League campaign in the first leg of the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Neroca FC at the Kalyani Stadium on Monday.
Marcus Joseph gave Sporting the lead with a good header in the second minute of action before Sergio Mendigutxia leveled the issue with an opportunistic goal in the 13th minute.
In the rest of the match, both sides had plenty of chances to score but all efforts proved to be in vain.
The draw meant that defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC (27 points from 11 matches) were confirmed as the first leg toppers even before the final round-robin match on Tuesday.
Sporting finished second with 26 points from 12 matches, while Neroca moved up to fifth with 18 points ahead of Churchill Brothers (17), who have played one match less.
In another match played at the Naihati Stadium, Rajasthan United FC secured a ticket to the Championship leg by playing a goalless draw against Srinidi Deccan FC.
Rajasthan United finished their first leg campaign with 16 points, which placed them seventh ahead of Real Kashmir FC (12 out of 11). Srinidhi Deccan finished fourth with 21 points.
Result: In Kalyani: Neroca FC 1 (Sergio Mendigutxia 13) drew with Mohammedan Sporting 1 (Marcus Joseph 2).
In Naihati: Srinidhi Deccan FC 0 drew with Rajasthan United FC 0.