Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy 2024: Dempo SC edge past Sporting Clube de Goa

The Whites extinguished the Flaming Orange after a spirited display in Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy

Dempo Sports Club clinched three points in Group A after a 2-1 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in the 2nd edition of the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy on Tuesday.

The GPL champions Sporting Clube drew first blood through Doyal Alves while the newly promoted II-League Dempo SC restored parity through Kapil Hoble before the break. Dempo SC capitalized on a goalkeeping error to gain the lead while the honors were done by Shubham Rawat who slotted one in to seal the win.

With both sides battling for a must-win the Golden Eagles were left without Head Coach Samir Naik who had received a red card in the earlier match against Brisbane Roar FC on Saturday.

On the other hand, Flaming Oranje displayed control in the midfield zone by playing short passes, their best chance came in the 16th minute as Francisco Fernandes tried his luck from the edge of the box which went narrowly wide.

Sporting Clube continued to mount pressure and broke the deadlock in the 21st minute as Ahongshangbam Sushil played in a through ball inside the rival box that was picked up by Doyal Alves who curled one in the bottom left corner to give them the lead.

Dempo outlast a valiant Sporting side in toe-to-toe Goa derby😮‍💨👀⚡#IndianFootball #sportingclubedegoa #demposc #bhausahebandodkarmemorialtrophy2024 pic.twitter.com/R8wuMrtKen

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 27, 2024

Dempo regrouped from the setback and gained momentum in the midfield. In the 32nd minute, Dempo SC leveled the playing field as Shubham Rawat played in a swift pass to split the SC Goa defense only to find Kapil Hoble. Hoble with his composure controlled the ball and calmly slotted it in the back of the net.

Dempo SC came close to finding the lead as Shubham Rawat beat the SC Goa custodian and the rolling ball was going towards the empty goal but was denied by SC Goa’s defender Joel Colaco who cleared the ball for a corner kick.

The second half saw Dempo emerge with renewed determination to take the lead. Their efforts were rewarded in the 72nd minute when SC Goa’s Myron Fernandes played a back pass to goalkeeper Abhimanyu Singh, who misjudged the ball. Dempo’s Vinay Harji anticipated the error and intercepted the loose ball, which fell to Shubham Rawat. Rawat seized the opportunity, powering it into the net to make it 2-1.

Moments later, SC Goa came close to equalizing as Mark Carvalho beat the Dempo goalkeeper but his low shot didn’t have the power to cross the goal line and Dempo’s Shallum Pires thwarted away the threat.

Sporting Clube continued their pursuit in search of the equalizer. However, the Dempo defense held firm to seal them a 2-1 win and secure them three points.

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