Calcutta, Aug. 17 :
Calcutta, Aug. 17:
Irrespective of the heavens choosing to be merciless or the fans pouring into the stadium in thousands, the CFL Super Division fails to dazzle. As a brand new season of the English Premier League kicked off Saturday, our very own powerhouse East Bengal blanked Food Corporation of India (FCI) 3-0 without any hint of vintage stuff at the Salt Lake Stadium.
Alvito D'Cunha struck twice, Mike Okoro rounded off the tally with his only show of brilliance for the day. East Bengal now have 13 points from five outings.
East Bengal were hardly stretched as FCI failed to string together worthwhile moves. But the 'big brothers' were far fr- om impressive in their domination.
The start, though, was on a positive note with Okoro and D'Cunha both getting near the target in the opening minutes. And just an insipid, aimless FCI effort in the 19th minute, D'Cunha netted his first.
Receiving a long ball from the left, the former Salgaocar man struck a low left-footer to the left of a hapless Shibram Roy at goal.
Dipankar Roy, Chandan Das and Shankarlal Chakraborty did show signs of speed and deft touches from time to time, but there was an absolute lack of the finishing touch - a quality which would have given East Bengal a bigger victory and D'Cunha a tally of at least five.
In the 38th minute, Kulothungan sent a through pass from the centre to D'Cunha on the left. D'Cunha trapped it immaculately and struck a searing left-footer, beating the goalkeeper all ends up.
FCI threatened just once - a move made possible by the introduction of Sanjoy Majhi after the break.
The only livewire upfront headed a pass from the right in the 68th minute, the East Bengal goalkeeper somehow managing to get his hands to the ball.
A few minutes later, Okoro showed why he is rated so highly. As Suryabikash Chakraborty effected an accurate cross from the right, Okoro headed in from an acute angle - a dazzling effort to say the least.
This was his eighth goal in five games.
East Bengal won alright but they didn't have to put in much effort. Not an encouraging build-up for Tuesday's derby tie with Mohun Bagan.
Teams
East Bengal: Sandip Nandy; Suryabikash Chakraborty, Anit Ghosh, M. Suresh, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury; Shankarlal Chakraborty, Dipankar Roy (Malsawmtluanga, 73) Chandan Das, Alvito D'Cunha; Mike Okoro (Trijit Das, 78), Kulothungam (Subhash Chakraborty 45).
FCI: Shibram Roy; Dipendu Roy (Tapan Das, 56), Tapan Giri, Dipak Mohato, Ranavijay Singh; Satyajit Bose, Nilabha Chakraborty, Bidyut Dey Biswas, Saikat Pal (Sanjib Pal, 67); Hidyatullah (Sanjoy Majhi, 45), Sanjib Mishra.
Referee: Subrata Ray.