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Dempo Sports Club needed a late equaliser from substitute Peter Carvalho to snatch a one-all result against ONGC at the Duler Stadium, Mapusa, on Sunday (January 27).
ONGC were riding high on a Jatin Singh Bisht goal in the 37th minute of play and looked like they would repeat their giant 3-1 victory at home. But Peter Carvalho changed the script as he found the mark in the fourth minute of added time.
The win took the defending champions’ points tally to 34 points, still four points away from leaders Churchill Brothers and two away from East Bengal. Dempo, crucially, have played a match less than East Bengal and one more than Churchill Brothers.
Dempo started positively and had early chances in the game. A long ball from Valeriano Rebello almost found Koko Sakibo but the Nigerian striker was slow to react, allowing ONGC goalkeeper T Rehenesh to avert the danger.
Japanese midfielder Katsumi Yusa and Godwin Franco also went close for either side midway into the first session.
The match sprang to life in the 37th minute when ONGC surged ahead much against the run of play. Midfielder Jatin helped the ball into the nets off Eric Brown’s free-kick as goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury could only stand and watch.
Dempo had a chance to restore parity but Anthony Pereira’s diving header missed the target narrowly.
In the second session, Dempo were hungry to claw their way back in the match. Sakibo went close again, this time fed on the platter by Joaquim Abranches and then Peter Carvalho undid all the good work done by Valeriano Rebello.
Climax Lawrence’s missed chance four minutes before close seemed in line with their saga of missed chances but Dempo finally had a reason to smile in the fourth minute of added time. Godwin Franco’s shot from close was thwarted by the goalkeeper but the ball fell nicely at the feet of Carvalho who tapped home the equalizer.
