Staff Reporter
Ella
Sporting Clube de Goa clinched the Goa Professional League title second time in a row, following their goalless draw against Dempo Sports Club at the Ella ground on Friday.
With the draw, SC Goa finished top of the table with 46 points from 20 matches, while Dempo SC finished second with 45 points from the same. SC Goa came close to breaking the deadlock when Leran Dias delivered a cross from the right flank into the box, but it flashed across the face of goal with no teammate on hand to apply the finishing touch.
Dempo SC pressed with intensity and controlled the midfield exchanges for large spells. However, the game turned fiery when Sporting Clube’s Naocha and Dempo’s Laximanrao Rane were both shown straight red cards. In a heated altercation, Naocha appeared to land a punch on Rane, who retaliated, prompting the referee to send both players off and reduce each side to ten men.
At the other end, Dempo’s Salgeo Dias was a constant threat down the left flank, dancing past defenders and cutting into the box. He fired in a dangerous low cross, but a timely clearance from a Sporting Clube defender kept the scores level going into halftime.
SC Goa stepped up their attacking intensity in the second half, with head coach Armando Colaco introducing Selwyn and Vikram to add fresh impetus. In response, Dempo coach Remus Gomes brought on Asmon in a bid to regain control in midfield and tilt the momentum his side’s way. Moments later, Sporting Clube goalkeeper Siddharth Rana was shown a yellow card for time-wasting as he delayed a goal-kick restart.
Dempo SC continued to push for a breakthrough, with Topon Minj delivering a sharp cross from the right, only to see it cleared by a resolute Sporting Clube defence.
Dempo SC came agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock, but SCG goalkeeper Siddharth Rana proved up to the task. Nestor Dias threaded a pass to Arnold Oliveira, who quickly laid it back into Nestor’s path inside the box. Nestor took a deft touch before unleashing a powerful strike, only to be denied by a sharp reflex save from Rana, who preserved SC Goa’s clean sheet.
