Martins scores in Dempo victory

Dempo Sports Club beat Churchill Brothers 2-0 to score their third successive win in the ONGC I-League at the Nehru Stadium here today.

Dempo Sports Club beat Churchill Brothers 2-0 to score their third successive win in the ONGC I-League at the Nehru Stadium here today.

Dempo, who led 1-0 at half-time, scored through Roberto Mendes Silva in stoppage time of the first minute and Ranti Martins in the 66th minute. After two consecutive wins, this was the first setback to Churchill’s campaign.

Dempo are now the top of the table with nine points. They controlled the midfield in this match, and striker Ranti Martins and Edeh Chidi combined well, with good support from the flanks keeping the rival defence under pressure.

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However, international Gouramangi Morangthem stood tall in the Churchill backline to ward off several attacks. Dempo had a good chance to forge ahead in the fourth minute, but Martins shot over off a cross from Chidi from the right. He faltered again in taking a first time shot in front of goal, which was cleared by a defender.

In Ludhiana, a 1-1 draw was played out between JCT And Mahindra United

AFTER defeating Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in Kolkata, JCT failed to make it a hat-trick in their I-League campaign as they were held to a goalless draw against Mahindra United at the Guru Nanak Stadium here. Both teams made several impressive moves but failed to convert them into goals.

JCT’s Sunil Chhetri and Eduardo Da Silva got yellow cards as did Mahindra’s Harpreet Singh and Manpreet.

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JCT next face Churchill Brothers here on December 8 while Mahindra United, who drew 1-1 with Air India before being thrashed 1-5 by Churchill, will take on Viva Kerala in Mumbai.