Golden Eagles now need a point to secure promotion to I-League
Action between Dempo and Sporting Clube.
Photo Credits: Sporting Clube de Goa
MARGAO
Striker Shubam Rawat smashed a second-half strike as former five-time champion Dempo Sports Club scored a 1-0 win over Sporting Clube de Goa to move closer to promotion to the I-League in the I-League 2 match at Tilak Maidan Vasco on Sunday.
A victory or draw against Sudeva Delhi FC on Sunday will seal the second team after SC Bengaluru made it to the I-League. The victory put Dempo in second place in the standings with 24 points, displacing Sudeva FC (23) to the third spot. Sporting Clube slipped to fifth and are out of contention.
"The players fought hard for the well-deserved victory. We were better in the first half as compared to the second half,” Dempo head coach Samir Naik said. “As I said it earlier, we will take one step at a time and now. We will have to focus on our next match which is against Sudeva Delhi FC. It will be a tougher challenge for us.”
Dempo pressed the Flaming Oranje right from the get-go with Rahul Kumar Paswan and Shubham Rawat and former testing the ’keeper in the third minute. The young duo continued to find openings, but neither could beat Sporting Clube goalkeeper with their efforts.
Rahul Kumar Paswan should have opened the scoring in the early moments, following a counter-attacking move, but the Dempo forward's shot was collected by Abhimanyu.
After that scare, the Flaming Oranje started on the front foot and nearly found the breakthrough from Allister Anthony, who failed to beat the Dempo goalkeeper. A couple of minutes later, Sporting Clube's Joyson Gaunkar failed to beat Dempo goalkeeper Sangram Mukerjee,
Crossing over, Dempo showcased their array of attacking talents Sporting Clube started the second half on an aggressive note but were dealt a blow when Joel Colaco gave his marching orders after picking up his second yellow card seconds into the restart.
in the 90th minute, captain and midfielder Ariston Costa, and Saiesh Bagkar spurn chances. Thereafter, Sporting went all out in search of the equalizer but Alister and Doyal Alves couldn’t find the target.
