The Goan outfit scored the all-important goal in the 55th minute when Uttam Rai played an aerial through-ball to Felix Chidi, who beat the onrushing keeper with a sublime lofted shot
Agencies
Srinagar
Felix Chidi’s second-half strike guided Dempo Sports Club to a solitary goal win against Lonestar Kashmir FC to move atop in the Second Division I-League, played in Srinagar on Monday.
The Goan outfit scored the all-important goal in the 55th minute when Uttam Rai played an aerial through-ball to Felix Chidi, who beat the onrushing keeper with a sublime lofted shot.
With this win, Dempo SC are on 10 points in 5 matches, two points ahead of Neroca FC and will now play all their remaining matches in front of their home fans.
Dempo SC and Lonestar Kasmir began the match on equal footings and restricted the play more in the midfield. The Goan outfit had only one chance in the first half, but Jewel Raja’s fine free-kick was brilliantly saved by the rival keeper.
At the other end, Dempo’s defensive duo - Chika Wali and Ali Mohammed did exceptionally well to deny the home team any chances. Kattimani was also tested once before the break, but the Goan keeper kept his team in the match with a smart save off Kasmir’s effort.
Crossing over, Dempo SC controlled the match and finally scored the goal in the 55th minute though Felix, thus ending his four-game goal drought.
The goal welcomed many more opportunities for the Goan team. First “ Romeo’s free-kick was saved by the rival keeper. Later, Uttam Rai saw his effort hitting straight at the keeper. Dempo SC outplayed their opponents but simply couldn’t convert their chances that came by. Mandar Rao and Romeo Fernandes brought back the spark in Dempo’s midfield and along with Jewel Raja and Germanpreeth Singh the Blues midfield looked simply outstanding.
“I’m very much happy with this victory. The boys are showing great determination in getting back in the I-League,” said Dempo SC coach Mauricio.
“We now concentrate on our next match against Neroca and I’m even more happy as I’ll be playing in front of my home crowd,” added Mauricio.
