March 19, 2004 19:36 IST
Leaders East Bengal continued their march towards the title, blanking JCT Mills, Phagwara, 3-0 in a one-sided National Football League match in Kolkata on Friday.
The defending champions, who dominated the exchanges except for a brief while midway into the second session, shot into the lead in the dying minutes of the first half through nimble-footed Baichung Bhutia, before the foreigner duo of Mike Okoro and Cristiano Junior found the target after the break.
Following the convincing victory at the Salt Lake stadium, East Bengal are now clear three points of nearest rivals Dempo Sports Club, Goa. They have 34 points from 16 matches.
JCT have 25 points from 16 outings.
The visitors, despite having in their ranks veterans I M Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri, seemed rudderless for the bulk of the scheduled time. They came closest to scoring in the 55th minute, when a firm shot from Sukhjinder Singh crashed against the post.
