MARGAO
Former champions Dempo Sports Club bounced back with a equaliser by striker Vasim Inamdar to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw against Sporting Club Bengaluru in the I-League 3 Play Off, at Tilak Maidan,Vasco, on Tuesday.
The two teams seeking much-needed momentum, commenced the proceedings on festive note. However, celebrations didn’t come easy for the The Golden Eagles , who faltered in their numerous attempts to draw the first blood in this encounter.
Sporting Club Bangalaru rocked the Dempo citadel in the very first minute when Arif Shaikh beat Dempo goalkeeper Welleyster Mendes off Shaikh Muzeeb to put his team in front.
Stung by the set-back, the Goan team were looking to assert their dominance in the top half of the table and were fierce on the field but still lacked the clinical edge. Bangaluru responded with a swift counter-attack producing a low ball into the box, but the shot was saved by the Dempo goalkeeper. Moments later, Dempo's attempt, this time from the left, saw a cross finding Laxminarao Rane whose shot narrowly missed the target.
Crossing over, Necio Fernandes spearheaded the midfield forward and attempted to finish a well-constructed move from outside of the box in the seventh minute only for the shot to lack enough power. Necio Fernandes who was outstanding and feeding his forwards with stream of passes found Shubham Rawat whose attempt missed the mark narrowly. Necio Fernandes from the flank found Vasim Inamdar whose beautiful blistering shot found the roof of the net in the 56th minute to level the score.
Dempo was left frustrated after the match referee rejected The Golden Eagles' appeal in the second half when they were denied a penalty after Bengalaru goalkeeper Satyajit Bordoli brought down Shubham Rawat inside the box. Shubham was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment and kept for observation and later discharged.
Head coach Samir Naik heaped praises on his players after sharing the spoils. “The performance of my players was fantastic so I am very happy about that. Now, we have two more matches and we have to show everything, that we need in the game. Today you saw the players are very motivated, sharp and in everything. We wanted to win but 1-1 in this moment is okay,” he said.
