Dempo SC 3 (Beto – 23rd, Tolgay – 45+1, 63rd)
beat
United Sikkim FC 0
By Debayan Mukherjee,
AIFF Media Team,
MANJERI: Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey marked his debut with a double either side of halftime as Dempo SC trounced lacklustre United Sikkim in their Federation Cup Group D encounter here at the MDSC Stadium in Manjeri on Friday (January 17, 2014).
Dempo now need a draw against Mohammedan Sporting next Monday (January 20, 2013) to advance to the semifinals owing to better goal difference.
Arthur Papas ringed in five changes from their previous game bringing in Alwyn George, – who scored in the first game after coming off the bench – Holicharan Narzary, Prabir Das, and their new recruits Ozbey and Afghanistan captain Haroon Amiri.
Brazilian Roberto Mendes Silva (Beto) opened the scoring for the five-time League champions in the 23rd minute. India International Clifford Miranda’s dead-ball floater from the right was cleared by United Sikkim defenders but only as far as Alwyn George who picked out Beto inside the area.
The former Churchill Brothers man from Brazil made no mistake and fired home from close.
Just at the stroke of halftime, Dempo doubled their lead when Ozbey slotted home left-back Narayan Das’s cross. The Australian striker timed his run to perfection, using the outside of his foot to place his shot into the bottom right corner.
Post the breather; it was all one way traffic as Arthur Papas’s boys made constant forays into rival territory.
Of one such raid, Ozbey found the back of the net for the second time in the match. Collecting possession on the edge of the area, the former Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan forward turned his marker both ways before stabbing home in the 63rd minute.
United Sikkim tried to reduce the margin in the dying minutes of the match but in vain. Jiten Rai skewed his shot over, while Sukhwinder Singh fired wide.
After this round of matches, Dempo have six points while United Sikkim are yet to open their account.
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