MARGAO
Dempo Sports Club were dealt with a blow as SC Bengaluru playing on their home turf at Bangalore Football Stadium, on Saturday, handed them a 3-0 defeat in the I-League 2.
In what was a highly spirited game, Dempo looked all ready to fire the all blazing guns.
It was a high-tempo start to the game with frequent chances at both ends. When the spectators were about to take their seats, Bengaluru's Arif Shaikh pulled the trigger leaving the Dempo goalkeeper Sangram Roy Chowdhury flat in the very first minute to put his team infront.
Dempo lack of depth and it was clearly evident when Chongtham Singh doubled the lead in the 13th minute off Jibin Devassy's assist.
SC Bengaluru lost their sharpness and focus but Dempo still looked clueless and continued to struggle for ball possession.
Dempo showed some improvements after the break but SC Bengaluru still proved too strong for them.
The dominance of SC Bengaluru was evident from the start as they controlled the tempo with authority though the Dempo defence managed to hold firm.
Dempo displayed their intent when Basanta Singh Moirangthem's fierce free-kick soon after resumption was collected by the rival goalkeeper Neeraj Kumar with great difficulty. In the 55th minute, Dempo came close to pulling back a goal when Rahul Kumar Paswan floated the ball from the flag kick which travelled to Rane whose attempt was saved by rival goalkeeper Neeraj Kumar.
With solid defence and effective ball distribution, the home side kept Dempo at bay for much of the 90 minutes.
SC Bengaluru forward Arif Shaikh showed exactly why he was so ferociously doted on by the fans as he calmly slotted past the rival goalkeeper in added time.
Dempo head coach Samir Naik's substitutions yielded no fruits. With this win, SC Bengaluru collected 24 points while Dempo SC remained with 17 points from as many outings.
