Champions Madras Engineer Group and Centre (MEG) shrugged off their lacklustre start to the season with a thumping 4-0 victory over Army Service Corps (ASC) in the Super Division football league at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Sunday.
The Sappers pumped in three goals in a dominating first-half and never conceded the initiative at any point of the match.
Captain Shiyad put them ahead first, while Dipan Thapa and Nigilraj struck one apiece in a span of six minutes. Substitute Gabrial slotted the fourth in the 85th minute.
MEG, who had started with a goalless draw with LRDE and then posted a struggling 1-0 win over ADE, looked formidable with the return of Shiyad, Thapa and Jiten Meitei after their Southern Command assignment.
Aggressive mood
Right from the kick-off, MEG men were in an aggressive mood and the first goal came in the fifth minute.
Captain Shiyad’s throw-in from the right deflected into the goal off ASC defender Gopal Saha. There was no respite for ASC men as the MEG front-line created a flutter in the rival penalty area with Ramu providing fine assists from the right flank.
In the 15th minute, Thapa neatly collected a free-kick and shot a left-footer past ASC custodian Rajesh M V.  The third goal was a perfect example of MEG cohesion.
Defender Danji Singh won a tackle and passed to Lokeshwar after a 30-yard run on the right flank. Lokeshwar then flicked to Thapa inside the rival box and he in turn found Nigilraj. The latter made no mistake, scoring off a splendid drive.
With the three-goal cushion, MEG apparently took the foot from the accelerator in the second-half. But ASC front-line simply did not have the wherewithal to breach the solid MEG defence. Gabrial then rounded off Sappers’ tally with a strike past a charging Rajesh in the 85th minute.
In the ‘A’ Division, BHEL struck two late goals through Karthik (80th) and Dakshinamurthy (84th) to prevail 2-1 over Government Press. R Vijaya Babu found the solitary goal in the 91st minute for the Pressmen.
Monday’s matches: ‘A’ Division: BUFC vs Sri Gajanana, 1.45 pm, Super Division: Orientals vs Royals, 3.45pm.