MAPUSA: Dempo Sports Club rode on a lone goal by Joy Ferrao in the 12th minute as they breezed past ten-man Vasco Sports Club in the Round One match of the Goa Pro League Football, at Duler Stadium, here, on Tuesday.
Dempo SC set the tone right from the start as Vasco SC were kept on their back foot.
The Golden Eagles opened the scoring in the 12th minute through a set piece. Beevan D’Mello swung in a perfect corner kick to the back post which was headed by Ali Mohammed towards Joy and the striker did well to head past rival custodian Jerson Pereira as the Vasco SC defence were left standstill.
It was demoralizing for the Port town club to concede early on but they regrouped and found their rhythm. They had a golden opportunity in the 35th minute when striker Chinedu Ejiogu tested the rival defence for pace. The Vasco skipper made a daunting run forward and set up his strike partner Jerose Oliveira but the latter ballooned wide over from outside the six-yard box as Dempo SC custodian Lakmikant Kattimani had a sigh of relief.
Just before half time, Vasco custodian Jerson committed a goalkeeping error. Joy tried to score but unfortunately collided with the rival keeper.
Play was stopped for a couple of minutes as Joy was treated for a knee injury on his right foot. He was later substituted by Milagres Gonsalves in the second session.
Dempo continued their dominance post resumption with substitute Uttam Rai’s powerful right-footer missing the target.
In the 57th minute, Vasco SC were reduced to 10 man as Sudesh Muttath received a second yellow card and an inevitable red card from referee Tejas Nagvekar for a foul on Milagres.
Subsequently, Uttam’s header, substitute Steven Fernandes’ long ranger and Beevan’s powerful striker missed the target as Dempo SC could not double their advantage after total domination.
