Tolgay Ozbey was the hero as Dempo SC turned the heat on Churchill Brothers SC with a 4-1 victory in an Airtel I-League clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa, on Friday.

Ozbey scored all four goals including a brilliant first half hat-trick to floor Churchill Brothers inside the first 45 minutes, leaving Churchill to ponder on their precarious situation in the competition. The defending champions are just a point ahead of Mohammedan Sporting at the bottom of the pool.

The Australian striker opened the account in the eighth minute, then made it 2-0 in the 31st minute and completed his hat-trick a few seconds before the breather. He completed the rout with another goal in added time.

The win helped Dempo move to 31 points, the same as third-placed Pune FC. Dempo share the same number of points with Pune FC but are behind them only on goal difference, and number of goals scored. Their first leg result was a 1-1 draw.

Tolgay gave Dempo a dream start in the eighth minute when he found himself gifted possession of the ball by a rival defender. The Australian grabbed the opportunity with both hands, smashing the ball with two touches, straight into the top corner of the net.

Dempo’s second in the 30th minute was classic team-work. Clifford Miranda took a short corner to Alwyn George who relayed the ball to Ozbey. The last named saw an opening and took everyone by surprise with a brilliant strike.

Dempo sealed all the points in the first 45 minutes itself as Ozbey, again, found the mark to make it 3-0. Romeo Fernandes essayed a wonderful cross from the right flank to an unmarked Ozbey, headed it in for his hat-trick.

Churchill had their chances in the first session but Balwant Singh was wayward, first missing from handshaking distance and then misdirecting his header with goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattymani misjudging the flight of the ball.

Churchill Brothers fought back with two goals in the last four minutes of added time against Pune FC in their previous match but with a three goal deficit, it was always going to be a tough ask in the second session.

Churchill came back hard in the second session with Lebanese midfielder Abdel Shabana pulling one back in the 56th minute. But Tolgay had the final laugh as he scored another goal in the 88th minute to cap a fine evening for himself and Dempo.

(Report & Picture courtesy AIFF Media)