Dempo SC put three past Panjim Footballers in GPL

Alber Gonsalves opened the scoring, with Pedro Gonsalves and Suraj Handonkar also finding the back of the net.

Dempo Sports Club outclassed Panjim Footballers by an easy 3-0 margin in the Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium on Tuesday.

Alber Gonsalves opened the tally in the 24th minute, while Pedro Gonsalves doubled their lead in the 40th minute. Suraj Hadkonkar added a third in the 79th minute. 

Dempo had a few changes to their side which lost to Panjim Footballers in the Goa Police Cup. Head coach Samir Naik brought in Suraj Hadkonkar, Shallum Pires and goalkeeper Dylan Da Silva. On the other hand, Ajay Acharya made only one change to the Panjim Footballers side as Pratik Naik started.

After midfield play in the first few minutes, the Golden Eagles came close to opening the scoring in the 19th minute. Gaurav Vaigankar nicely curled the ball to Alber Gonsalves in the box, but Panjim Footballers defender Janio Fernandes made a timely interception to keep his side safe.

Four minutes later, the Golden Eagles came up with another attack. This time Desmon Pereira nicely setup Suraj in the box with a brilliant short pass. The Dempo midfielder went for glory from his first attempt, but Panjim Footballers keeper Preston Rego made an excellent save. The ball once again rolled to Suraj. This time, his shot was blocked by defender Janio at the cost of a corner.

However, Dempo managed to take the lead from the resultant corner. Alber smartly headed a well-taken set-piece by Suraj to make it 1-0 for his side.

Panjim Footballers also had two great opportunities to level back. Dhiraj Chouhan brilliantly connected Akash Sanandi's long free-kick with his head. But, his header directly went into the waiting hands of Dempo keeper Dylan. They wasted another opportunity in the 39th minute. Akash sent a perfect through pass to Pandurag Gauns. Instead of directing the ball into the net with just Dempo’s keeper to beat, he chose to find his teammate who later wasted the attack.

At the other end, Dempo scored their second in the 40th minute. Pedro Gonsalves easily tapped Darell Mascarenhas’ low cross from point-blank range to make it 2-0 at halftime.

Energized by a two-goal cushion, Dempo made an attacking start to the second half and came up with a series of attacks. Suraj made a brilliant through pass to substitute Saiesh Bagkar in the box. But, the Dempo player's powerful strike was blocked by Panjim Footballers defender Dhiraj for a corner. They once again came close to increasing their lead in the 61st minute. This time, Gaurav tried his luck from distance, but his goalbound strike was nicely fisted over the crossbar by Panjim keeper Preston. 

After probing attacks, Dempo finally managed to add another goal to their tally in the 79th minute. Saiesh nicely cut past a few opponents to enter the box and found Suraj with a cutback. The midfielder calmly slot the ball in the net, making it 3-0.

A few minutes later, the same pair were in action as they almost scored the fourth for Dempo. Saiesh nicely curled the ball to Suraj from the right flank. But, the Dempo midfielder could not make the most from the opportunity with just the Panjim Footballers keeper to beat.  

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