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Newcomers FC Bardez edged past heavyweights Dempo SC as they recorded a 1-0 win in the Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium in Mapusa earlier today.
FC Bardez coach Armando Colaco made one change to the last match with midfielder Alesh Sawant starting, while their newly signed Nigerian striker Koko Sakibo was also on the bench. Dempo boss Mauricio Afonso also made only one change replacing out of form striker Milagres Gonsalves with Nigerian Felix Chidi.
Dempo were high on confidence as they had won last match convincingly against Corps of Signals while FC Bardez came into this one looking to win the match.
The match was just six minutes old when Dempo’s Nickson Castanha was cautioned for a harsh tackle on Alesh. Ten minutes later Myron Mendes tried his luck from distance but failed to keep it on target. As the match progressed Dempo were busy attacking their opponents making their intentions clear. On 18 minutes Dempo’s Mohammed Ali produced a brilliant cross for Adil Khan in the box, but his header was pushed for a corner by FC Bardez keeper Mirshad K.
The Golden Eagles should have taken the lead but again Adil’s header sailed over the crossbar. Two minutes later, Adil was in action again as he tried to set up unmarked Joaquim Abranches with a cross but the striker failed to connect with his header from point blank range. In the 26th minute Joaquim’s shot from the edge of the box rebounded after hitting the post. FC Bardez who were playing in blue for the first time, tried to regroup and marched into the opponent’s zone but every time failed in the final third.
FC Bardez came out stronger after the break and played some attacking football, keeping Dempo keeper Tyson Caiado busy between the sticks. In the 53rd minute Felix got hold of a pass from Kapil Hobble and covered some ground before firing a shot from 18 yards, which was blocked by a defender at the cost of a corner. Four minutes later FC Bardez were lucky not to concede a goal when Adil’s blistering shot from 10 yards rebounded after hitting the crossbar, with the FC Bardez keeper and defence beaten.
In the 64th minute FC Bardez introduced Koko, replacing Latesh Mandrekar. His substitution made an impact on FC Bardez as they started attacking again. Ten minutes before the full time whistle, Alesh tried to setup Rowilson Rodrigues with a superb cross from a corner but defender Ali cleared it with a flying header. A minute later FC Bardez should have taken the lead when Jessel Carneiro found unmarked Koko but the latter headed wide off the target.
In the 82nd minute Koko got hold of a pass from skipper Peter Carvalho who dribbled past a defender in the box but the Dempo keeper advanced and made a diving effort to deny him. Finally in the 85th minute U-20 Kirtikesh Gadekar scored to send the FC Bardez supporters into raptures when a move was initiated by Alesh from a short corner to Koko, he later passed it to Girish Naik who found an unmarked Kirtikesh in the box. The striker made no mistake to bash the ball home.
Bardez coach Colaco was in a mixed mood after the win and said, “I have to credit my boys for putting a spirited fight. We had one opportunity and we scored from it. Koko made the difference.”
With the win FC Bardez jumped into second spot with seven points from four matches played while Dempo will dropped down to third on the same points. Only head-to-head separates the two teams in the table.
