HYDERABAD: Dempo SC Goa came from behind to hold Home United FC of Singapore to a 1-1 draw in the first leg quarterfinal of the AFC Cup 2008 football championship at the Gachibowli stadium here on Tuesday.
The match was a keen tussle between the two evenly-matched teams. Dempo began with a flourish and launched some attacks right away while Home United countered with accurate passing and good positional play.
Early on Home United’s livewire midfielder Peres Spindula De Oliveria essayed a powerful drive which was palmed over the bar by Dempo goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal.
To its credit, the Goan outfit did a lot of hard work in midfield and essayed many more attacks than its rival but the territorial advantage that Dempo enjoyed was not reflected in the goals scored.
In the 20th minute, a neat header by Mahesh Gawli off a flag kick had Home United goalie Lewis Lionel bring off a smart save.
Thereafter Dempo had two good cracks at the goal but each time Lionel brought off smart saves to deny the Goan team any breakthrough.
Later Peres Spindula’s thundering free kick from 35 yards had Mondal leaping high to deflect over the bar. But the Dempo goal fell five minutes before the break.
Spindula advanced from the right and then gave a minus pass to Mohammad Rosman Bin Sulaiman who sent in a grounder from 35 yards. The ball went through a maze of players inside the box and entered the net. The goalkeeper Mondal seemed to have been unsighted and reacted too late to prevent the fall of his citadel.
In the second session, Dempo dominated the exchanges for long spells but was unable to get the equaliser.
The Goan team put in a determined effort in midfield, building up moves on either wing but the hard working Lionel in the Home United goal managed to keep the Dempo attacks at bay.
But Dempo’s efforts finally paid off a few minutes before the long whistle when Mboyo Iyomi got his head to a flag kick and put the ball in from close range to the delight of the fans, who had come all the way from Goa to see the match.
The second leg will be played in Singapore later this month.
The match was a keen tussle between the two evenly-matched teams. Dempo began with a flourish and launched some attacks right away while Home United countered with accurate passing and good positional play.
Early on Home United’s livewire midfielder Peres Spindula De Oliveria essayed a powerful drive which was palmed over the bar by Dempo goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal.
To its credit, the Goan outfit did a lot of hard work in midfield and essayed many more attacks than its rival but the territorial advantage that Dempo enjoyed was not reflected in the goals scored.
In the 20th minute, a neat header by Mahesh Gawli off a flag kick had Home United goalie Lewis Lionel bring off a smart save.
Thereafter Dempo had two good cracks at the goal but each time Lionel brought off smart saves to deny the Goan team any breakthrough.
Later Peres Spindula’s thundering free kick from 35 yards had Mondal leaping high to deflect over the bar. But the Dempo goal fell five minutes before the break.
Spindula advanced from the right and then gave a minus pass to Mohammad Rosman Bin Sulaiman who sent in a grounder from 35 yards. The ball went through a maze of players inside the box and entered the net. The goalkeeper Mondal seemed to have been unsighted and reacted too late to prevent the fall of his citadel.
In the second session, Dempo dominated the exchanges for long spells but was unable to get the equaliser.
The Goan team put in a determined effort in midfield, building up moves on either wing but the hard working Lionel in the Home United goal managed to keep the Dempo attacks at bay.
But Dempo’s efforts finally paid off a few minutes before the long whistle when Mboyo Iyomi got his head to a flag kick and put the ball in from close range to the delight of the fans, who had come all the way from Goa to see the match.
The second leg will be played in Singapore later this month.
