Goa Pro League: Dempo script comeback victory over Panjim Footballers

Pedro scored a 73rd-minute freekick for the Golden Eagles.

Dempo Sports Club came from a goal down to beat Panjim Footballers by 3-1 margin in the Goa Pro League match played at Duler Stadium on Thursday. Lloyd Cardozo scored just before half-time to give Panjim a surprise lead, but Beevan scored a brace right after the start of the second half. Meanwhile, Pedro came off the bench and sealed a victory for Dempo with a fantastic 73rd-minute freekick goal.

Dempo who were held to a goalless draw in the last match had two changes as their coach Samir Naik brought back Ariston Costa and Alber Gonsalves in the starting XI. Whereas, Ashok Megheri was the only change in Panjim’s XI which stunned FC Goa in the previous match.

Dempo who were the dominant side since the start, came with their first potent attack in the 12th minute as Richard Cardoz sent a perfect corner to Alber in the box, but his header deflected off Panjim defender Akram Yadwad and went out for a corner again. Two minutes later they had another opportunity as this time, Kirtikesh Gadekar made a through pass to Richard who covered some ground before blasting it from inside the box. But his goal-bound strike was acrobatically pushed for a corner by Panjim keeper Preston Rego.

A few minutes later, Kirtikesh came with another through pass to Latesh Mandrekar who cut past a Panjim defender at the top of the box and shot on the goal but it went directly into the waiting hands of Panjim keeper Preston. Dempo were awarded a freekick just outside the box at the half-hour mark, where Shallum Pires directly went for glory from the set-piece. However, Panjim custodian Preston once again rescued his side with a brilliant save at the cost of a corner.

The Golden Eagles came with two back-to-back attacks in the 44th minute as first, Darrel Mascarenhas found Beevan in the box with a curled ball, but the forward saw his tap miss the target by a whisker. A few seconds later, Richard came with a fine cross which Panjim keeper Preston failed to collect and the ball went to an unmarked Danstan Fernandes, but the U-20 midfielder could not make the most of the opportunity.

At the other end, Panjim managed to stun Dempo from their first potent attack in the 45th minute as their midfielder Vallmicky Miranda set up his teammate Lloyd Cardozo with a defence-splitting through pass in the box. The lad made no mistake from inside the box with a clinical finish to the help the Capital City side take lead.

Down by a goal, Dempo coach Samir made a double substitution at half-time as Ariston and Latesh made way for Pedro Gonsalves and Suraj Hadkonkar. And the substitution worked for the Golden Eagles as they almost found the equaliser within 40 seconds after resumption of play.

Pedro, who had just came from the bench, made a brilliant through pass to Beevan who was just left with the keeper to beat. However, instead of placing the ball at the far post from close, he went for a powerful shot that went over the crossbar. Beevan missed another sitter in the 47th minute as Darell came with a perfect cross from the deep right flank, but the forward failed to connect with the empty net in front of him. The Golden Eagles saw another swift attack go in vain as Darell sent a cross to Richard in the box, but the winger failed to keep his header on target from inside the box.

Having missed out on several open opportunities, Dempo finally managed to level back in the 56th minute as Richard’s cut-back pass was smartly tapped-in by Beevan to make it 1-1 for his side. Within the next two minutes, Beevan made the fans crazy. This time, Suraj sent a cross to Pedro in the box who saw his goal-bound tap brilliantly block by Panjim keeper Preston, but an unmarked Beevan quickly headed the loose ball in the net making it 2-1.

Energized by quick goals, Dempo added another to their tally in the 73rd minute when they were awarded a freekick just outside the box following a tackle on Beevan by Panjim Footballers defender Liston Cardozo. Pedro stepped forward and nicely curled the ball into the near post which gave no chance to diving keeper Preston, confirming all three points for the Golden Eagles.