KOLHAPUR: An 84th minute strike by Ranti Martins saw defending champions Dempo Sports Club edging past ONGC by a solitary goal in a round 17 I-League match played at the Sahu Maharaj grounds, here on Saturday.
The win though keeps the reigning champions still on 4th place and now have 31 points from 16 matches, while the relegation threat is looming large over the Oilmen as they found themselves at the bottom of the table with just 11 points from 17 matches.
After a barren first half, where stalemate prevailed over the first forty-five minutes, Ranti Martins emerged hero for the Goan giants notching up the winner in the closing minutes of the game.
It was a good display by the ONGC defense who didn’t allow the Dempo strikers to come near the post until just five minutes before the final hooter was whistled. But they lost three crucial points from a home tie.
From the start of the match ONGC adapted a defensive approach and the defence really played a crucial role and throughout the match they didn’t let the Goan team to take command. After a goalless first half, even as the second half began, despite the Goan outfit trying hard into the ONGC defence they couldn’t make a breakthrough.
But in the 84th minute Ranti Martins got the possession of the ball and tapped it into the goal. Dempo goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury was later adjudged the man of the match. The race for the coveted I-League championship is hotting up as three Goan outfits are battling out together with the only hope from Bengal in the form of East Bengal. Salgaocar SC, who lead the points table with 40 points are seven points clear from the second place city rivals, Churchill Brothers,
while the latest setbacks for East Bengal saw them slipping to third spot with 32 points from 15 matches with Dempo too breaking into the thirties with the latest win over ONGC.
0 comments:
Post a Comment