Kolkata, Oct 18 (IANS) Ghanaian striker Yousif Yakubu struck once in each half as three-time winners East Bengal rode past Vasco Sports Club, Goa, 2-0 Saturday in a poorly supervised I-League match here.
The local giants put up a much improved performance than their earlier matches, as the lethal Yakubu stole the show to propel his side to the fifth place with six points from four games. Vasco remained at the bottom of the table with a solitary point from four outings.
Yakubu drew first blood as early as the sixth minute of the Salt Lake stadium match when he received a pass from Mehrajuddin Wadoo and placed the ball into the net to the left of Vasco goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani.
East Bengal continued their domination and eight minutes later, Syed Rahim Nabi missed a sitter following a Sur Kumar Singh centre.
Mehrajuddin then unleashed a rasping long ranger, but Kattimani saved the situation at the cost of a corner.
Soon after the half-hour mark, Yakubu got another golden opportunity but he was tripped by the goalkeeper inside the penalty box. However, referee P.K. Bose of Madhya Pradesh ignored it this and instead flashed the yellow card at Yakubu for time wasting.
After the lemon break, Vasco tried heard to get the equaliser, as the East Bengal defence looked suspect time and again. The visitors almost restored parity, but the referee again ignored what looked like a proper goal scored by Uzbek striker Sherzod Nazarov.
The local side again seized control of the proceedings and in the 55th minute, a Sunil Chettri shot following a Yakubu pass deflected off the post.
A minute before the final whistle, substitute Sanju Pradhan set up Yakubu with a fine ball, and the Ghanaian finished off in style to walk away with the Man of the Match award.
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