I-League Media Team
GOA: Dempo Sports Club could find themselves in serious trouble if they fail to get anything out of Royal Wahingdoh when the two teams meet in a Hero I-League clash at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Wednesday.
Dempo are currently placed ninth on the table with 13 points from 13 matches. They only have Bharat FC and Sporting Clube de Goa below them, but a win for the two teams and a loss for Dempo means they will be in the relegation zone for the first time this season.
Not that it will come as a surprise for Dempo supporters. The former I-League champions have won just two matches in the competition. The first was against bottom-placed Sporting Clube de Goa in the first leg and the second was against Mumbai FC, thanks to an added time penalty from Carlos Hernandez.
Even in their last game, Dempo were far from convincing as they lost 1-2 against Mumbai FC, although coach Trevor Morgan said the loss was hard to swallow.
“I think in the first half, they (Pune) scored through one attack. I don’t think they had an attack at all but still managed to score. When we were chasing the game, Tolgay came on and scored with 20 minutes remaining. After that it was pretty much one way traffic. It’s been an Achilles Heel for us all season – we create chances but can’t seem to put it into the back of the net,” Morgan said after the game.
Like Morgan pointed out, the bright spark for Dempo has been the return of Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey. Without him, Dempo have looked pretty ordinary but when Tolgay took the field for the last 20 minutes, Dempo seemed much more dangerous.
Royal Wahingdoh will take the field with an enhanced reputation, especially after handing title rivals Mohun Bagan their first loss in the competition. Santosh Kashyap’s side are placed second at the moment with 26 points from 15 matches. Their rivals, Bagan, are two points ahead and have two matches in hand but should they win against Dempo at Fatorda, Wahingdoh will move up to the table, providing the team with a fitting incentive to target three points.
Kick-off: 22-04-2015@ 7 PM
Hashtag: #DEMvRWFC
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