Desperately needing a victory to boost its sagging morale, State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, crushed Vasco (Goa) 4-1 in a National Football League match in Kozhikode on Wednesday.

Playing an attacking game, bottom-placed SBT seized the initiative from the start and scored first in the 28th minute through striker N P Pradeep.

Sidney Rodrigues restored parity for the Goa team in the 62nd minute, but Mohammed Rafi regained the lead for the bankmen six minutes later.

Growing in confidence, SBT scored again through Anil Kumar in the 87th minute.

Vasco tried hard to reduce the margin, but Asif Zaheer came up with a perfect hit to seal the issue for the bankmen with hardly a minute left.

SBT's M A Abdul Hakeem was named the man of the match.

With this victory, SBT moved to 11th position, with 13 points. Vasco are a rung below, at the bottom of the 12-team table.

The bankmen take on Mahindra nited next, on April 18.