Alvito D'Cunha scored three goals as Kolkata giants East Bengal quelled a late resurgence to defeat Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club, Bangalore, 5-3 in a National Football League match in Bangalore on Saturday.
Leading 1-0 at half time, East Bengal scored four more goals in the second session. However, HASC hit back at the fag end of the match, scoring thrice to reduce the victory margin.
Alvito D'Cunha scored thrice, in the 33rd, 46th and 72nd minutes, while Subhas Chakraborty and Mike Okoro fired one goal each, in the 48th and 64th minutes respectively.
For HASC, Kenath Onu netted two goals, in 81st and 85th minutes, and substitute Mahendra Mani scored the other during injury time. With this victory, East Bengal pushed their points tally to 21 from nine engagements while HASC have only four.
Fresh from their IFA Shield victory, East Bengal dominated the proceedings, attacking from the beginning. The HASC defence was breached in the 33rd minute when right-winger Douglas Silva Dos Santos lobbed the ball to star India striker Alvito D'Cunha, who deceived the rival defenders to launch his team into the lead.
Alvito enhanced the lead when he scored a superb 20-yard goal, after a solo effort in the 46th minute, and two minutes later, Subhas Chakraborthy consolidated it, netting a goal off an immaculate pass from Mike Okoro. Okoro then got into the goal-scoring act, capping a solo effort with perfection while D'Cunha scored his side's fifth goal and his third in the 72minute.
A complacent East Bengal then decided to rest D'Cunha 15 minutes before the final whistle, sensing no trouble from their rivals. But HASC stepped up the pace and scored through Kenath Onu, who fired into the net off a pass from
Raja Baliev Nurlan.
Onu scored again in the next three minutes and Mahendra Mani scored the other goal during injury time.
More from rediff