GPL 2019-20: Dempo put four past Calangute Association

Pedro Gonsalves scored a brace for the Golen Eagles.

Dempo hammered Calangute Association, as they registered an easy 4-0 win in the Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium on Friday.

Pedro Gonsalves scored a brace, while Beevan D’Mello and Alber Gonsalves scored one each for the Golden Eagles.

Dempo coach Samir Naik made two changes to his side, which defeated FC Goa in the previous match. Edwin Viegas and Velito Cruz replaced Mathew Gonsalves and Kirtikesh Gadekar respectively in the starting XI. Whereas, Mario Mascarenhas was the lone change for Calangute, who held Sporting Clube de Goa to a goalless draw in the last match.

Calangute should have taken the lead in the early minutes. Moises D’Sa found Denson Fernandes in the goalmouth with a well-taken corner, but the U-20 forward saw his header hit Dempo defender Shallum Pires before going out for a corner.

Dempo took some time to settle down and came up with two swift attacks in the next 10 minutes. First, Alber Gonsalves sent a cross to Rajat Harijan in the box, He headed back it to Joaquim Abranches, but the forward’s strike went over the crossbar.

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A few minutes later, Nickson Castanha curled the ball to Alber in the box, but the lad saw his header miss the target by a whisker. A minute before this, Calangute had another opportunity to surge ahead. Daryl Costa tried to find his teammate Denson with a long ball, but Dempo keeper Agnelo Gomes came out of the box to clear the danger in time.

At the other end, the Golden Eagles had the best chance to take the lead in the 20th minute. Aman Govekar setup Alber with a pinpoint cross in the box, but the winger failed to keep his strike on target with just the keeper to beat.

However, Dempo surged ahead in the 27th minute. After receiving a short pass from Velto Cruz, Pedro chipped the ball into the net from distance to make it 1-0 for the Golden Eagles.

Dempo tactician Samir brought on Beevan D’Mello to replace the injured Joaquim at half time and the forward brought pace into the match. Dempo produced a swift attack in the very first minute of the second half. Beevan made a through pass to Aman, who fired a powerful strike at goal. But, his goalbound strike hit Calangute defender Krishnanath Shirodkar and went out for a corner.

Beevan had two more chance to double the lead for the Golden Eagles. First, his chipped shot from inside the box went over the crossbar with an empty net. A few minutes later, Nickson found him in the goalmouth with a curling cross, but the lad saw his flick sail over the crossbar.

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Dempo had a couple of more opportunities in the next two minutes, but Calangute custodian Sanij Bugde denied Aman and Nickson in a one-on-one situation. Whereas, Beevan’s goalbound header was brilliantly fisted over the crossbar by the Calangute keeper in the next minutes.

After probing attacks, Dempo finally extended their lead in the 65th minute. Nickson made a darting run to enter the box and sent a cut-back to Beevan. His shot was brilliantly blocked by Calangute keeper Sanij, however, he could not clear the danger completely. Taking advantage of the same, Pedro slotted the ball home from six-yards to make it 2-0.

After missing out on several occasions, Beevan made it 3-0 for Dempo in the 72nd minute. Substitute Suraj Hadkonkar sent a cross to Aman, whose shot from close was brilliantly blocked by Calangute keeper Sanij. But, the rebound was smartly headed in by the forward to put his side in the driver's seat.

Dempo had a chance to further extend their lead in the 78th minute. Substitute forward Latesh Mandrekar was in a commanding position to score, but Calangute keeper Sanij once again came up with a brilliant block to deny the forward.

They further inflated their lead in the 87th minute. Yogesh Kadam made a swift run and found Alber with a cut-back. He made no mistake to shoot pas thet Calangute keeper from inside the box to make it 4-0.