East Bengal drub HAL

Defending champions East Bengal scored twice in each half to drub a hapless Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, 4-0 in an 18th round match in the Tata National Football League in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The highlight of the match was a fine brace by Jose Carlos Da Silva.

In the 15th minute of the match, East Bengal's Brazilian winger found the mark off mid-fielder Bijen Singh's pass.

Ten minutes later, Carlos was again on target with a solo effort.

HAL made just one good move in the entire first half, when their medio Vinod Kumar shot over a Dayanand cross with just a minute to go for lemon break.

In the second session, Soumitra Chakravorthy, who replaced striker Dipankar Roy in the 63rd minute, made his presence felt when he smartly converted defender Surya Bikash pass in the 65th minute.

Bijen Singh then rounded off the tally in the 80th minute with an opportunistic goal following a flag kick. HAL custodian Gumpe Rime fumbled while collecting the flag-kick, allowing Bijen Singh enough room to score.

The Bangalore outfit got a couple of chances to score but their mid-fielders Dayanand and Vinod Kumar made a mess of them.

In the 50th minute, Dayanand shot over a Vinod Kumar pass and soon after missed a sitter, his left footer going way off the target.

It East Bengal's eighth victory; and they now have 26 points.

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