Nestor Dias came off the bench and netted a goal in the 83rd minute to help Dempo Sports Club slide past Delhi FC with a 1-0 win in the I-League in Margao on Wednesday.
The win snapped Dempo's five-game winless streak and lifted them to seventh place in the standings with 14 points from 11 matches, including four wins, two draws, and five losses.
Delhi FC, however, continued their struggles, extending their winless run to five matches and remaining in the 11th place with just nine points.
The first half saw both the teams creating promising chances, but poor finishing let them down.
Dempo's best opportunity came early when Pruthvesh Pednekar sent in a sharp cross from the right to Knerkitalang Buam, who outran his defender but failed to get a strong enough connection, allowing Delhi goalkeeper Lalmuansanga to make an easy save.
In the second half, Dempo continued to press, with Buam missing another golden chance.
His weak shot was easily blocked by Lalmuansanga, and a follow-up effort by Vieri Colaco was also comfortably collected by the Delhi goalkeeper.
Delhi FC, who had been consistent in their goal-scoring form with at least one goal in eight of their previous 10 matches, struggled on the day.
Their attack lacked the usual sharpness and failed to break down Dempo's solid defense, offering little in terms of a genuine threat.
The breakthrough came when Kapil Hoble made a determined run down the right flank and delivered a pinpoint cross to the far post.
Dias, timing his run to perfection, met the cross with a superb first touch and found himself unmarked.
With plenty of space, he calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to score his first goal of the season, securing a much-needed victory for Dempo on home soil.
Gokulam Kerala FC make short work of SC Bengaluru
Later in the day, Gokulam Kerala FC notched their second home win of the season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over SC Bengaluru in the I-League 2024-25 in Kozhikode on Wednesday.
Ignacio de Loyola Abeledo scored both the goals in the eighth and 90th minutes.
The result propelled Gokulam Kerala to third spot in the table with 19 points from 11 matches, two behind leaders Namdhari FC, albeit having played one more than Churchill Brothers in second.
SC Bengaluru, meanwhile, stay rooted to the bottom of the table, and will have to produce a sharp turn to salvage their season.
Gokulam put their burners on right from the start, battering at an SC Bengaluru side that had just added last year's top scorer Alex Sanchez to their ranks.
In the seventh minute, Gokulam had their first chance, Suhair Vadakkepeedika coming in from the right of the box and unleashing a fierce low drive towards the near post.
Yuya Kuriyama parried the shot away, but the rebound fell to Ignacio de Loyola Abeledo. The Spaniard's first time attempt was cleared off the line.
Bengaluru had barely exhaled the fumes of their relief at seeing that chance go begging, when Gokulam scored the opener.
Some brilliant close passing link up play between Martin Chaves and Vadakkepeedika saw the latter lay the ball into Abeledo's path inside the box. The Spaniard's low shot towards the right corner was inch perfect. Kuriyama's dive was in vain.
Gokulam showed no signs of slowing down, and were keen to add to their tally. Kuriyama was constantly called into action and made a memorable save from point blank range off a corner.
The visitors were living off scraps and did not really test Shibinraj Kunniyil at all in the first period.
Despite taking their foot off the pedal a bit in the second half, Gokulam did just enough to keep Bengaluru at bay, thwarting their attacks as well as controlling the pace and direction of the game itself.
Despite the narrow lead they seldom looked likely to concede a goal and throw the points away.
Abeledo scored a second in the final minute of the game, running on to a cleared ball to launch a one-man counter attack. He took the ball to the left, forcing Kuriyama off his line and despite the tighter angle finished brilliantly into the far corner to ensure his side's victory.
Perhaps the only blemish from their game came in the sixth minute of injury time, when Salam Ranjan Singh picked up a second yellow card for a needless foul, to be sent off.
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