JCT thrash Assam Rifles 5-0; to meet Salgaocar in QF of Durand Cup

New Delhi, Oct 31 (UNI) Brazillian Eduardo Da Silva scored four goals, including a hat-trick, as five-time champions Jagajit Cotton Textiles thrashed unfancied Assam Rifles to set up a quarter-final clash with Salgaocar in the 120th Osian's Durand Cup football tournament here today.

JCT were the overwhelming winners with action largely confined to Assam Rifles half and the Shillong-based side could make just one shot on target in the whole duration of the match.

Captain Julius Akpele opened scoring in the 16th minute and then it was Edu all the way to humiliate their rivals with goals in the 34th, 53rd, 66th and 89th minutes.

Despite the absence of Renedy Singh and Sunil Chhetri, who were with Indian team in Goa against Lebanon yesterday, JCT dictated from the word go and Edu muffed a chance in the 12th minute from a Baljit Sahni spadework, by shooting over the bar from close range.

Four minutes later, JCT surged ahead with central defender Akpele finding the back of the net from a Marcos Pereira corner kick. Akpele's first header rebounded from Assam Rifles goalkeeper but was second time lucky.

Edu missed a sitter in the 30th minute after he shot straight to goalkeeper Lokeswar Singh from a one-on-one with his strike partner Praveen Kumar.

The Brazillian import rectified his mistakes by heading home from another corner by Pereira in the 34th minute. This was before Assam Rifles had the only shot of the match, with Akum Ao firing from outside box but was too feeble to do any harm to JCT goalkeeper Karanjit Singh, who rarely touched the ball.

JCT's superiority was more pronounced in the second session and it took just eight minutes into it to make the score line 3-0 with Edu scoring his second goal from a penalty kick after Praveen Kumar was brought down inside the box by Assam Rifles captain Naoba Singh.

Edu then made it 4-0 with a beautiful goal in the 66th minute, firing a low and curling free kick into the net from outside the box after Assam Rifles goalkeeper touched the ball by his hand outside the box.

One minute from the final whistle, Edu completed Assam Rifles' humiliation firing home after getting the better of a defender from a Shivraj Singh pass.

Earlier, former champions Salgaocar swamped Viva Kerala 4-1 in another pre-quarter final match.

Malswamtlunga (15th, 90th) scored twice while Felix Chimaokwu (38th) and Nicholas Rodrigues (40th) netted one each for the Goan side, while substitute Santa Singh scored the consolation goal for the Kerala side in the 79th minute.

JCT and Salgaocar will now meet on November 4 for a place in the semi-finals.

Tomorrow, Dempo take on Indian Air Force in the first match while Air India plays New Delhi Heroes in the second.

UNI