Poor defence cost Dempo dear

That they lost the first-leg semi-final 1-0 in Beirut wasn8217;t too big a concern considering the fact that they had the home advantage in the second-leg.

In the end, it turned out to be an anticlimax 8212; a 4-1 hiding at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad today. The scoreline, however, didn8217;t tell the entire story. Dempo fought, and fought well. But Safa FC of Lebanon converted their chances and moved into the finals.

Striker Mohammad Kassas and substitute Hussain Tahan did it for the Lebanese side with two goals each. Kassas scored his first goal in the ninth minute and sealed the issue with his second, eight minutes later.

Though Mboyo Iyomi pulled one back for the hosts on the hour mark, by then it was all but over.

8220;The early goals really upset our plans,8221; Dempo assistant coach Mauricio Afonso said after the match. 8220;At 1-0, we still had a chance but after conceding two goals within first 20 minutes, it was very difficult to come back,8221; he added.

He lauded Safa8217;s performance saying: 8220;Safa forced us into making mistakes and based on their performance today, they deserved to be in the final.8221;

At the same time, he lashed out at his defenders. 8220;Our defenders made some bad errors and they have to take some responsibilities for this defeat.8221;

Ahead of this tie, Dempo coach Armando Colaco put a lot of emphasis on the defensive organisation. In reality, the rearguard let him down.

Dempo went on the attack mode right from the outset leaving lots of gaps in the defensive-third. Anthony Pereira had a clear sight of the goal in the seventh minute but his volley went wide. Then on, things started to go south for the hosts.

Kassas broke the deadlock heading home a Rony Azar8217;s free-kick. In the 17th minute, he went past three defenders to double the advantage.

The situation called for desperation and Colaco brought on Joaquim Santan for Nicolau Borges at the half time. The move paid off as it helped raise the tempo and Iyomi reduced the margin with a delightful strike.

He received a long ball from the back, chested it down perfectly, dropped a couple of defenders and fired past Safa goalkeeper Nazih Tay. The very next move saw Ranty Martins almost level the score. His powerful strike was stopped by Tay at full stretch.

Then Iyomi scored in the dying moments only to see the goal was disallowed for off-side.

Tahan scored his first goal from the counter attack, with nobody to mark him. He made it 4-1 deep into the added-on time.

Safa coach Samir Saad was naturally delighted after this win. He also agreed that the early goals made the difference. 8220;The early goals made all the difference for us today. Our plan was to keep the game tight and to hit them on the counters and it worked out perfectly,8221; he said.

Safa would be the first Lebanese club to play in the AFC Cup since Al Nejmeh got there in 2005.

Saad is looking forward to the possibility of facing Al Nahda of Oman who had a 1-0 victory over Muharraq in Baharain a couple of weeks ago.

8220;We can now look forward to the final and I hope that we face Al Nahda who are a strong side,8221; Saad concluded.