Sport - Football

Dempo drubs Air-India

MUMBAI: Dempo Sports Club’s firepower and one-touch passing was on display in the 4-1 defeat of Air-India.

The ONGC Cup I-League football leader (17 points, seven games) opted for caution till the break against the dangerous Mumbai side, and then went for the kill and succeeded in quelling the home team’s challenge at the Cooperage on Thursday.

Chidi Edeh and captain Ranti Martins, the Goa club’s African strikers, showcased their rapport and talent for breaching defences. Air-India now has seven points.

Two goals each from the Africans were decisive strikes, each one better than the earlier as Dempo moved with fluency and authority all over the Air-India half, snuffing out visions of a fight back by the gritty Mumbai team.

Njoh Jean, the long-legged Cameroon forward in the Air-India ranks, neutralised Chidi’s 36th minute opening goal.

The 44th minute equaliser served as a wake-up call for India’s champion club, as coach Armando Colaco stressed later.

Chidi’s first goal had patience and intent written all over. Positioning near the Air-India penalty spot for a diagonal pass drilled goalwards by Anthony Pereira, then waiting for custodian Raju Ekka to commit himself before calmly tapping the ball in.

Air-India’s Njoh snaked his way past a maze of legs, guiding the ball home for the equaliser.

Air-India’s dogged defending crumbled after Dempo went ahead due to a lucky break for Chidi saw the ball deflect in off defender Dhanachandra Singh’s knee, leaving custodian Ekka, bracing himself for a collection, no time to change course.

From then, it was a Dempo show all the way. Climax, influential in the middle despite being troubled by a painful ankle, trapped a weak pass from the Air-India defence towards the left wing, raced ahead and picked out Martins with a swirling ball to the other flank.

The Dempo captain’s smooth run-in and finish spurred him on to produce the day’s best goal.

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