Dempos knock-out punch

Dempo SCs efforts to establish themselves at the Asian level seem to be paying off. The Goan club thumped two-time champions Al Faisaly....

Dempo SCs efforts to establish themselves at the Asian level seem to be paying off. The Goan club thumped two-time champions Al Faisaly of Jordan 3-1 at the Nehru Stadium,Margao,on Tuesday to make the knock-out stage of the AFC Cup. And though they had defeated their rivals in the away leg as well,this victory at home was priceless.

We were denied by luck in the last two matches, Dempo coach Armando Colaco told The Indian Express. Today we missed a few chances,but our victory was comprehensive and well-deserved. Im happy that we didnt have to wait for other results. But from here,its going to get tougher, he added.

With seven points from five matches and Al Muharraq breathing down their neck the Goans struck in the first minute. Anthony Pereira crossed the ball inside the danger area to Clifford Miranda,whose pass met Ranty Martins,who easily put it past goalkeeper Al Elamaireh. However,Dempo defender John Dias presented the opponents with an opportunity to level,bringing down Momen Abu Althenin inside the box in the 35th minute,and Moyayad Abukeshek made no mistake from the spot.

Dempo again soared ahead through Ranty,who scored off a penalty barely eight minutes into the second half. But it was Betos 66th-minute strike that sealed the match for the home team.

Fantastic goal

Betos was a fantastic goal,weaved through small passes with Ranty. It showed how successful our striking pair has been. John Dias had earlier committed a mistake,but we always knew we could do it. And this was the moment, said defender Mahesh Gawli.

Surprisingly,there were no celebrations in the Dempo camp,just a congratulatory note from the coach. But Gawli later rated Dempos last-16 qualification higher than an I-League title.

This has to go down as our biggest victory of the year. Any other result would have put a lot of pressure on the management. Now we can justify our negligence towards the I-League. This is bigger than winning the I-League and no Indian club can come close to what we have done.

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But now we have to be more careful as we cant afford slip-ups. We have little time as we play our next match on May 26. The most difficult part is we dont know who are we playing and where, said Gawli.

Al Maged also qualified from Group E as the leaders.