Dominant Dempo Shocked At Home By JCT

The defending champions Dempo have lost their opening I-League fixture to JCT at the Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa despite dominating the game. It was the brilliance of JCT custodian Karanjit Singh who thwarted almost every Dempo attack which was enough for the Punjab side to snap up vital three points. Final Score: 2-1

If one was to mention every Dempo attack, this report would be endless. JCT goalkeeper Karanjt Singh touched the ball far more than his strikers which only gives a glimpse of the way the game went.

This is the first time Dempo have been beaten at home in over more a year in the top division and no guesses for who they went down to the last time. JCT beat Dempo 3-2 in the 2006-07 season at the same venue on 12th April '07. Dempo went undefeated at home throughout the last campaign and only lost two games to Mahindra United (Match Day 12) and East Bengal (Match day 13)

First Half

Dempo began their I-League campaign with a full strength side. JCT fielded the usual playing XI with striker Balwant Singh coming on for the now East Bengal player Sunil Chhetri. Gurwinder and Baldeep Senior took the responsibilities in the middle of the park where they had the reliable playmaker Marcos.

After the few initial touches, the home side got into the groove with Beto’s intercepting pass finding Ranti Martins, whose final shot wasn’t worth a mention. JCT played as a strong unit and helped each other out in difficult situations.

Right winger Baljit Saini was in good touch and would get forward at every given opportunity. On receiving the ball from Eduardo, Baljit’s strike went just outside goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal’s right post.

Beto was getting more involved and his shot on the turn went wide. A minute later, the Brazilian was at it again, as he used the open space given to him, to strike a fierce left footed shot which almost went in.

Then came the moment when JCT took the lead as Eduardo took the ball on his chest and the very next moment struck it hard with deft placement to find the back of the net. Daljit Singh’s cross was pin point and Clifford Miranda was found wanting in the defence.

The goal sprung Dempo into action as from then on, there was only one-way traffic. Climax Lawrence’s floater found Ranti Martins’ whose first time shot was well stopped by JCT custodian Karanjit Singh.

Dempo came forward in numbers while JCT defended in numbers. Striker Mboyo Iyomi went pastJulius Akpele and his cross was missed by Beto only for Clifford to slash it over the top.

A brilliant move involving Climax, Beto and Ranti ended in Mboyo being in an one-on-one situation but an alert Karanjit Singh came out and averted the danger.

In the 39th minute, an Anthony Pereira flag kick saw Mboyo’s header being fisted away by Karanjit. At this point, the two wingers – Clifford Miranda and Anthony Pereira switched their positions hoping that it would get them the breakthrough.

Climax Lawrence’s shot was deflected by Gurwinder Singh for a corner a little later. In the injury time of the first half, Ranti Martins could have scored after taking the ball on his chest but just as he was to unleash his shot, defender Anwar Ali showed his class and cleared the ball away.

JCT have defended well in the first half and kept Dempo strikers at bay.

Second Half

The second half saw Dempo replace goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal for Sathish Kumar while JCT got in Jagpreet for Baldeep Junior. But that had no change in the proceedings as Dempo continued to attack where JCT were seen in their own half. Nicolau Borges came in for Clifford Miranda and added more versatility to the attack.

Anthony Pereira was fouled at the edge of the Dempo box on the right but the resultant freekick taken By Beto was easily cleared by the boys from Punjab. Climax, Beto and Mboyo played some one touch football for the Congolese striker to strike from inside the box to see his shot being cleared by Jaspal, which went only as far as Ranti Martins. The Nigerian’s header was well saved by Karanjit Singh.

JCT’s Balwant Singh, who made his debut in the top division, scored the second goal for his side with a cool finish after receiving the pass from Baljit Saini. It felt that this was the final nail in the coffin but that wasn’t to be as Dempo completely took control of the match thereafter.

Thirteen minutes from full time, Dempo did manage to pull one back through substitute Nicolau Borges who scored from an acute angle to beat Karanjit Singh off a Beto cross. Two minutes later, Nicolau found himself in a similar position but was denied by Jaspal and Karanjit Singh.

Former Churchill Brothers striker Mboyo Iyomi cut inside from the left and sent in a goalwards bound shot but was blocked by his own man Ranti Martins. Beto’s header went wide from a Valeriano Rebello cross.

JCT were giving away the ball cheaply whenever they did manage to touch the ball. Left back Samir Naik’s power packed right footer was punched over the bar by goalkeeper Karanjit Singh for a corner.

The best chance for Dempo to equalize befell Mboyo Iyomi, after finding himself alone in the box off a Anthony Pereira corner kick, he sent the ball into the orbit. Coach Armando Colaco couldn’t believe his eyes and so did every Dempo player on the pitch.

Karanjit Singh was brought into action once again as he flipped an Anthony Pereira lofted cross over the bar.

The match ended with the 2-1 scoreline and Dempo would wonder how did they not manage to find the back of the net on a number of occasions. They created innumerable chances but failed to make the most of it.

JCT would consider themselves lucky to come out of the game with full three points. The 90 minutes seemed longer to them and it was their resilience under pressure which stunned the defending champions. Credit to JCT custodian Karanjit Singh and his backline comprising of Jaspal, Anwar, Julius and Daljit for soaking all the Dempo attacks.

Final Score: 2-1

Goalscorers JCT: Eduardo Da Silva (17th) and Balwant Singh (63rd)

Goalscorer Dempo: Nicolau Borges (77th)

Source:Goal.com