Mahindra zoom past Dempo, go on top
Mahindra…3 Dempo…1
AGENCIES
MUMBAI, APRIL 1
Mahindra United went top of the ONGC I-League as a result of a 3-1 victory over Dempo, providing a fresh twist to the title race at Cooperage ground, here on Thursday.. Dempo went into the break 1-0 up, but a much-improved Mahindra scored via Rafi and Muritala (2) in the second half, securing a deserving win.
Mahindra United started with Krishnan Ajayan and Sushant Matthew in the middle of the park with Subhodeep Mukherjee standing between the sticks while Dempo played Peter Carvalho and Clifford Miranda as the two wingers.
It was a slow start to the game, quite understandable, under the rising temperatures of the summer. The first shot on goal came from the home side with Muritala cutting inside and unleashing a shot from 30 yards which went straight into the hands of the Dempo custodian.
Given the exceptional form of Ranti Martins, who had scored seven goals in the last five matches, it wasn’t surprising that the Nigerian opened the scoring for the Goan side as he rose inside the Mahindra box to head in an inch perfect cross from Valeriano Rebello in the 14th minute.
Four minutes later, the jeepmen survived another scare as Beto’s curling free-kick was parried away for a corner by Subhodeep Mukherjee.
Around the hour mark, a Sushant Matthew floater saw Dempo goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattymani collect the ball outside the stipulated area and from the resultant free-kick Steven Dias sent the ball wide.
Neither of the teams looked clinical in their performance as none could come together with a string of passes together and chances were hard to come by.
Subhodeep Mukherjee was once again the saviour for the Mumbai club as he palmed a Clifford Miranda corner-kick with Ranti waiting to head it.
The second session began with David Booth introducing Svetozar Mijin for Paresh Shivalkar on the left and the move paid dividends as Mahindra looked a different side from the lacklustre display of the first.
Debabrata Roy’s shot took a deflection and Mohammed Rafi headed the ball over the Dempo custodian to equalise for the Red Devils in the 57th minute.
Muritala Ali showed his class and amazed those present at the Cooperage with the timing of his run to meet a long ball from Ravanan to beat the off-side trap and slot the ball home to leave the Dempo defenders wondering as to what had struck them.
In the 78th minute, Ranti’s header from a Beto free-kick went over the bar as Dempo missed a crucial opportunity to come back into the match.
However, Dempo didn’t create much in the final minutes of the game, and it was Mahindra who were offered counter-attacking opportunities, as deep into injury time, Muritala ran into acres of space on the right, charged into the box, sent John Dias the wrong way with a stepover, and smashed the ball home to score his second goal of the game.
The 3-1 result saw Mahindra go top of the table, which makes the title race a rather intriguing one to follow from now on. Muritala was named man-of-the match for his two goals.
