Dempo beat JCT

Margao: Two first half strike helped defending champions Dempo blank JCT 2-0 in a third round match of the I-League at Nehru Stadium on Saturday.

Dempo, who notched up their first win today after a draw and a loss, scored through Roberto Silva (31st) and Ranty Martins (35th). Playmaker Roberto Silva, who was playing his first match after skipping the earlier two matches, controlled the midfield and kept the attack moving. After a prolonged midfield battle, Dempo surged ahead in the 31st minute through a penalty. Roberto Silva, who was moving with the ball dangerously inside the box, was brought down by defender Daljit Singh and referee M B Santosh Kumar awarded the penalty and flashed a yellow card to Daljit. The resultant penalty, which was taken by Ranty Martins, saw hitting the post after brushing the fingers of the diving keeper Pawan Kumar, but the rebound came to Roberto Silva who shot home with a stiff grounder. Dempo increased their lead four minutes later when Ranty Martins headed in a well directed cross from the left by Nicolau Borges. Ranty Martins again had an opportunity in the second half to score but his left-footed drive from inside the box missed the target narrowly even as Dempo held the ball possession for long in the second half. The young Punjab side, lacking in experience, had three chances but Balwant Singh failed to find the mark on all three occasions. Speed was JCT`s forte as they tried to get the better of Dempo defence with counter moves. JCT had their first chance to score when defender Amandeep from the right beat a couple of rival defenders and crossed the ball into the box where Praveen Kumar failed to connect. The ball came to Balwant Singh whose effort was saved by rival keeper Laxmikant Kattamani in the 20th minute. Balwant Singh again had a chance to score in the dying minutes of the first half but his shot missed the target narrowly after getting the better of defender Domnic Noronha and Marcus Peixgto. The win took Dempo to four points from three matches while JCT remained on one point. Referee M B Santosh Kumar showed yellow card to JCT`s Amandeep Singh and Daljit Singh. PTI