East Bengal thump HAL 8-1 in I-League

Bangalore: The recent derby defeat to Mohun Bagan was forgotten as a resurgent East Bengal mauled Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 8-1 to record their biggest ever victory in the I-League, on Wednesday.

Making a comeback after missing Sunday`s 0-1 defeat to Mohun Bagan, Aussie striker Tolgay Ozbey notched up four goals, defender Uga Okpara struck twice while Robin Singh and Baljit Saini scored one each. Few quick attacks and East Bengal struck the right chord. Eight minutes into the game, keeper Amar Deb fumbled from a feeble back pass from skipper Femi Adeola, and latching quickly onto the lapse, Robin placed the ball straight into the goal. After another eight minutes, Hamza earned a penalty for his team after Robert Lalthama tripped him inside the penalty box. Hamza made no mistake to restore parity. East Bengal raided HAL defense repeatedly. Uga Okpara toyed with the defense and scored two goals in a gap of 10 minutes. In the second half, Tolgay was just waiting for his share of action. His trademark running down the flank always troubled HAL full backs. However, this time, defense could barely cope with his pace and in no time he scored his hat-trick. Baljit Saini joined the party with a goal within a minute replacing Sanju Pradhan. The eighth goal came from Robin`s cross - Tolgay, coming from behind a HAL defender, sweetly timed his jump with an accurate header for his fourth goal of the match. PTI