Belgium clobber Portugal 19-0 at hockey

Belgium, ranked ninth in the world, annihilated Portugal 19-0 yesterday in the second round of the hockey World League in St-Germain-en-Laye on the outskirts of Paris, reports Asianet India. The Red Lions started the rout in the third minute when Tom Boon, with 107 internationals under his belt, slotted home a penalty corner. The nippy striker doubled the advantage a few minutes later when he deflected home from close range, before. Jerome Dekeyser converted a penalty corner to make the score 3-0 inside the first 10 minutes. Boon added two more while four of his teammates also got their names on the scoresheet as Belgium went into half-time 9-0 up. The Red Lions, under new Dutch coach Marc Lammers, applied sustained pressure on Portugal in the second half. Boon rattled the opposition cage three times while Dekeyser added two more to his tally as the Belgians strolled to a 19-0 victory. They take on Scotland today in their second game.