Football: Fed Cup: Dempo spank United SC 5-0

I-League champions Dempo SC made a mincemeat of 10-man United SC with a brace each from Ranty Martins and Roberto Mendis Silva to register a thumping 5-0 win in a Group A match of the 30th Federation Cup at the Vidyasagar Krirangan in Barasat on Sunday.

In another match, played under floodlights, State Bank of Travancore [Get Quote] (SBT) held Mumbai FC 3-3 which saw the former pulled off two goals in the dying minutes.

With Sunday’s win, Dempo are almost assured of their place in the last four.

It was Joaquim Abranches who drew the first blood for Dempo in the 22nd minute before the goal flurry dashed the hopes of Subrata Bhattacharya’s boys to make it to the semifinals.

Bhattacharya’s ploy never worked was on target as Goans dominated after taking the lead.

The United’s defence led by the Nigerian duo of Ayeni Bidemi Daniel and Louis Nigi Ebami was too porous for Ranty, who made a comeback recovering from his hamstring pull, to sneak past in every possible way.

It all started via a 22nd-minute free kick from 30 yards which was taken by Roberto Mendis Silva. Utilising it to maximum, Abranches deceived United SC defenders easily to give the team a 1-0 lead.

Abranches was instrumental in doubling the lead as Ranty utilised the former’s centre from the right that left the four defenders surprised. It was too easy for Ranty to finish with a clinical header to open his account in the 34th minute.

After the lime break, Brazilian medio Roberto, displaying some delightful skills, headed their team’s third goal in 53rd minute.

Eleven minutes later, Ranty completed his brace as the United onslaught continued unabated. Roberto completed the rout in the extra time of the match off a Climax Lawrence hit that hit the crossbar. However, an alert Roberto found the net from the rebound.

In the second match of the day, Kalia Kulothungan gave an early lead in the seventh minute to see Mumbai FC go 1-0 up. After 21 minutes of tussle, SBT brought out the equaliser through Martyn John in the 28th minute.

Locked 1-1, the match went into the second-half with Mumbai FC looking to dominate the proceedings. As it turned out an own-goal from Paul Anthony, SBT went down 1-2 in the 57th minute. The unprecedented lead put some momentum back on the David Booth’s boys who slammed home through Ahmed Felix Aboagye in the 70th minute as they look to settle the issue.

However, fate had something else at store for them as they Mumbai boys, who were this year’s I-League qualifiers, brought themselves back into the game by a Kannan R strike in the 90th minute of the match.

A penalty in the second minute of added time shattered Booth’s hope of getting three points from the match as M Abdul Basheer scored from a penalty to help SBT held the Mumbai boys 3-3.

Football : I-League: Alvito Misunderstood – Stanley

The left winger accused Stanley of not giving him enough playing time and restricting his on field activity to a mere five –to-ten minutes.

Coach Stanley Rosario felt let down as his player spoke to the media about his issues instead of coming to him. Earlier, Alvito had claimed that he spoke to the coach following the 2-1 loss to Churchill Brothers SC last evening.

“No, after the match I went for the press conference and in the dressing room everyone was quiet. I am shocked on hearing Alvito’s statements. I know him very well. He is a quality player and has given his best to East Bengal over the years.

“However, Alvito knows his fitness levels. All I wanted was that he gets back to his best. I never expected him to take things negatively as he has.”

The former Army XI coach stated that he never asked Alvito to start in the game against Dempo.

“We were playing in Goa and being a local boy, everyone expects him to play. Indirectly, I told him that I want you to come in the second half to change the gear.”

On the accusation by Alvito that he is being underplayed, Stanley mentioned that it was wrong on the part of a senior player like him to make such demands.

“I every player will ask why are you playing me for 10 or 15 minutes then that’s not right. Today Alvito says, I am sure then tomorrow Sanju Pradhan or Nabi might say the same. It’s not right on the part of the players to ask such things.

“As far as having three players in each position goes, the left wing has been a problem. Dharamjit has been out, Alvito was injured for most parts, Renedy has been in and out and so, I was forced to shift Nabi on the left.”

Alvito mentioned that Stanley was only trying to appease national team coach Bob Houghton in the hope of the Englishman retaining him as the assistant coach, in case, things go wrong in East Bengal.

“Nobody speaks about Bob Houghton in the team meetings. We only speak about out team and strategies.

“I shall speak to Alvito and try to clear the air.”

Football: I-League Preview: Mohammedan Sporting – Dempo SC

This article is taken from Goal.com, all due credits to them

On any other week, this would be just another clash but with the defending champions Dempo in desperate need for points, all eyes would be glued to the action at Salt Lake Stadium when the Goan side takes on Mohammedan Sporting in a ninth round I-League clash.

Difficult Period…

The Kolkata side haven’t had a very good league campaign so far. With only nine points in their kitty, the club shall look to make their home games count. Earlier, it was the defence which was a cause of worry for Coach Shabbir Ali. But with addition of Anit Ghosh and Madhab Das, the backline looked far more stable as in the earlier games.

Their strike duo of Mike Okoro and Theodore Sunday haven’t had an eventful campaign with the former suffering from fitness problems. Okoro did well against Mahindra and got his side three points but since then, the Ghanaian has been quiet.

At the start of the season, Shabbir Ali stated that his side is primarily dependent on their foreign contingent. With two of three foreign players failing to deliver and going by the coach’s words, their team is in bad form.

Midfielder Adebayo Adewusi has been fighting it hard in the middle of the park and surging ahead at every given opportunity. His presence in the middle has been a boon for the Black and Whites.

It’s high time that Mohammedan picks themselves up and restore some pride before the league enters its winter break.

Returning To Normalcy

No one would have expected Dempo to have a pedestrian showing in the league especially after making history by reaching the AFC Cup semi-finals. Languishing in the lower half of the league table, the Goan side struggled in two key departments – striking and defending.

They wouldn’t convert their chances and that got Coach Armando Colaco to scratch his head for the first time in several years. The defence was committing errors and the confidence which one associated with them was nowhere to be seen except in the midfield. Anthony Pereira, Climax Lawrence and Beto have been exceptional this season.

It doesn’t take long for them to stamp their authority on the match and get the opposition players behind the ball. After a convincing victory over Chirag United in the last round, the defending champions shall look to continue the very same form.

Such was their display that it prompted their coach to mention that his side are back to their best. Three points in this game would help them move ahead in the league ladder and thus finish in the top half.

Form Guide

Mohammedan Sporting

November 14 ’08 Mohammedan Sporting 1-0 Vasco SC (I-League)

November 8 ’08 Chirag United 1-0 Mohammedan Sporting (I-League)

November 2 ’08 Mohammedan Sporting 0-0 East Bengal (I-League)

Dempo SC

November 16 ’08 Dempo SC 4-0 Chirag United (I-League)

November 11 ’08 Mumbai FC 0-0 Dempo SC (I-League)

November 8 ’08 Dempo SC 0-1 Sporting Clube De Goa (I-League)

Team News

The good news for Mohammedan is that Sheikh Azim is back after missing out most of the league campaign. Anit Ghosh and Mir Farooq are back from suspension. The bad news is that Theodore Sunday hasn’t yet recovered while skipper Mike Okoro remains doubtful. Dempo continue to be without striker Mboyo Iyomi who suffered a hamstring injury in the match against Mumbai FC. Defender Mahesh Gawli is back from injury.

Key Areas

Pretty much looks like a one sided match and any loss of points would be Dempo’s own squandering.

Key Players

Vimal Pariyar: The former East Bengal scored in the last game and his pace is certainly threatening. Ranti Martins: The Nigerian is back amongst goals after his two against Chirag. He shall look to add more to his tally.

Dempo to go all out for win

A win away from being the first Indian team to qualify for the final of the AFC Cup, Dempo Sports Club are likely to go all out when they take on Lebanon’s Al Safa Club in the second leg semi-final in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The Lebanese side hold an advantage as they were able to pip the Goan team by a last-minute goal in the first leg match in Beirut.

While Dempo need to win by more than one goal, Safa would be happy to settle for a draw.

Unlike the tie in Beirut, where Dempo played a defensive game, the Goan team will do everything to win the home match at the Gachibowli Stadium.

So much so, that Dempo coach Armando Colaco is likely to play his Brazilian midfielder Roberto Mendes da Silva or Beto, who has not yet fully recovered from the shoulder injury he received a few days ago.

Dempo will be without their key midfielder Clifford Miranda, who has a double booking against his name.

A similar offence will also keep top Safa midfielder Amer Khan out of the match. Colaco said that Tuesday’s match should be the match of their lives for the Dempo players.

“My boys are prepared for it. They played wonderfully throughout the tournament and it would be no different on Tuesday.”

Dempo suffers a loss

Defending champions Dempo were defeated by JCT 2-1 in the I League Match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa yesterday i.e Sunday.