Former champions Dempo Sports Club had things their way in a 4-0 victory over Mumbai FC, in a second round I-League match, at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Thursday.
Clifford Miranda put Dempo ahead in the first session while Ranty Martins scored a brace and Anthony Pereira also added his name to the scoresheet, as the Goa giants turned what was a competitive match in the first session into a stroll in the second.
Dempo showed Mumbai FC plenty of respect at the start, most of it stemming from the visitors' 4-1 demolition of Air India in the opening round.
Mumbai FC started positively, and within minutes of the kick-off, Sampath Kuttymani hit the post with a long ranger that took everyone, including Dempo goalkeeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, by surprise. They again hit the crossbar, this time Ebbie Sukoro leaving the Dempo goalkeeper stranded with a beautiful curl that hit the horizontal and rebounded back into play.
But, at the other end, they lived dangerously, and it was only because of Joaquim Abranches's haste that Dempo did not open their account. The Dempo striker was beautifully set up by Clifford Miranda and had an open goal in front of him, but, shockingly, sent the ball wide.
A minute later, Ranty was at the right end of a through ball, but the Nigerian striker failed to find the net even after getting the better of rival goalkeeper Ishan Debnath.
Dempo finally broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Peter Carvalho tore the Mumbai FC defence to shreds with a beautiful through ball from almost the half-way mark. Clifford, at the other end, timed his run perfectly, controlled the ball and placed it past the onrushing goalkeeper.
Just like the first session, Mumbai FC started strongly after the change of ends, but once Ranty got his first goal, and the team's second five minutes from the restart, the result was abundantly clear.
Ranty continued to be dangerous with his movements, and the 72nd minute strike -- after being fed on a platter -- was in tune with the match.
Anthony hammered the final nail in Mumbai FC's coffin.
