PANAJI
Dempo Sports Club U-21s ousted Sporting Clube de Goa U-21s, comprehensively beating them 4-1 in their Bandodkar Gold Cup Group B match played at Duler Stadium in Mapusa on Thursday.
Both the teams took the field on a positive note having won their earlier group league match. Dempo struck two goals in each session of play. The Golden Eagles started flying as soon as they took the field as skipper Hayden Fernandes scored the opener in the first minute itself with a stinging 30-yard strike that hit the Sporting’s side goal post before entering the goal. Sporting should have levelled terms nine minutes later, when Avrhisto Fernandes' corner at the far post saw Shawn Noronha’s shot hit Dempo goalkeeper Ozen Silva's leg before going for a corner.
Sporting skipper Quan Gomes then saw his rasping long-ranger sail just over the Dempo post. In the 29th minute, Dempo’s Josley Dias worked upfront on the right flank and flashed the ball at the goal, which keeper Selwyn D’Souza could only parry away to an unmarked Hayden outside the penalty box, and the Dempo captain drilled a power-packed right-footer into the nylons to make it 2-0.
Dempo almost netted their third goal off a power-packed shot from Jayson Lucas, whose strike from outside the penalty box was blocked by keeper Selwyn D’Souza. However, just six minutes into the second session Dempo made it 3-0. Veegan Ferrao’s 25-yard freekick zoomed into the goal past the defensive Sporting wall. Dempo further inflated their lead as striker Kapil Hoble, who was closely marked in the entire first session, finally managed to sneak in his stiff grounder to the far corner of Sporting goal in the 60th minute, 4-0.
In the 63rd minute referee Sunil Nanodkar switched his role with the fourth official, making way for his assistant Elvis Simoes due to dehydration. Sporting finally pulled off a goal in the 77th minute when Akeraj Martins dribbled past Dempo right back Nestar Dias and drove a low shot which travelled to stopper back Clive Miranda, who had moved upfront to score with a stiff grounder, 4-1. Sporting should have further reduced the margin, but Nigerian Ndidi Chukwuma, whose contribution to his team was very little in the match, saw his header off Quan Gomes' freekick travel past the side post.
Dempo coach Anthony D’Souza was happy with his boys' efforts. “All the credit goes to the players because their hard work paid off today. They have really worked hard for the past one and a half week. This is a new bunch. We had the experience of only one senior player; rest is a completely inexperienced team. We played with real spirit today,” D'Souza said after the match.
Norbert Gonsalves, the Sporting coach said: “Overall the boys played a good game because they have given their best. In the first half, I think we dominated but they created. In the second half we got many chances but we failed to convert. I was very happy with the ball possession today.’’
Dempo's Hayden Fernandes earned the Man of the match award, a cash prize of Rs 5,000.
