I-LEAGUE Media Team

GOA: Dempo Sports Club had no problem putting it across Sporting Clube de Goa 3-0 for their first victory in the Hero I-League at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Tuesday.

Goals from Lenny Rodrigues (28th), Alwyn George (50th) and Francis Fernandes (90th) were enough for Dempo to grab three points. They led 1-0 at the break and dominated the second session after Sporting Clube defender Joseph Clemente was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 47th minute.

Dempo Sports Club and Sporting Clube both had injury concerns and fielded comparatively weaker squads. While Sporting Clube handed a starting spot to Sumeet Passi on top, there was no place for Portuguese defender Miguel Garcia or Australian striker Boima Karpeh, both of whom were left on the bench.

Dempo on the other hand were severely crippled as Tolgay Ozbey, Haroon Amiri, Fulgancio Cardozo were all left out of the squad. There were more worries for coach Arthur Papas as Peter Carvalho limped out with a calf strain when the match was just six minutes old and his place had to be taken by young Germanpreet Singh.

The injuries, though, had no impact on Dempo’s performance. They were forceful with Lenny Rodrigues, Francis Fernandes and Costa Rican midfielder Carlos Hernandez all taking terms in dictating terms. Even Alwyn George caught the eye and could have put his team ahead early in the game but despite cutting past three defenders he waited for the Sporting defence to regroup and lost the opportunity.

Clifford Miranda, on the half hour mark, saw his attempt boldly saved by goalkeeper Ravi Kumar but Dempo were not to be denied almost immediately as Hernandez released Lenny who cut past Rojen Singh and Jovel Martins before sending his right footer past Ravi Kumar from the edge of the box.

Anthony Wolfe was the lone ranger for Sporting Clube upfront. He went close twice in the opening session. At first he was thwarted by Calum Angus right inside the danger zone and some minutes later, when Wolfe tried to get past Angus his touch was too strong and he lost his balance before the ball rolled into the hands of goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani.

Sporting Clube were forced to throw in the towel early in the second session as Clemente Joseph was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 47th minute.

Down by a man, the numerical disadvantage was too much for Sporting Clube and then conceded the second goal in the 50th minute. Alwyn George collected a ball from Germanpreet Singh, then warded off his marker Rojen Singh and placed the ball past the goalkeeper.

In the next ten minutes, Alwyn could have completed his hat-trick but the former Pailan Arrows striker shocking shot over the crossbar, twice, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat.

Francis made it 3-0 in the third minute of added time as his shot from top of the box entered the nets.

Hero of the Match: Lenny Rodrigues