Kolkata: Title-holders Mohun Bagan continued its resurgence spanking Dempo Sports Club 5-1 in a seventh National Football League exchange on Tuesday.

Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto found the target twice while Lolendra Singh and Nigerian George Ekeh struck one apiece before Dempo's Stanley Colaco scored an own goal in the Salt Lake Stadium match. Uzbek Andreev Sergey reduced the margin for the losers.

The local giants, who put up a lacklustre showing in the initial stages of the tournament till signalling a return to form with a 4-0 drubbing of Indian Bank in their previous match, now have 18 points from 10 outings.

After playing listless soccer for the major part of the first half, Bagan went ahead seconds before half time and bolstered its lead with an early strike in the second half to unsettle its opponents.

The city giants thereafter literally toyed with their opponents and could have won by an even bigger margin but for their strikers who muffed up a number of rosy chances.

Dempo, who matched its rivals in the first half, seemed all at sea after the breather to remain on 20 points from 10 games.

PTI