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I-League Comment: Stand Up For Dempo Sports Club
No foreigners, no problem...
01-Feb-2010 11:47:00 PM
By Amoy Ghoshal
After getting knocked out from the group stage of the Federation Cup and losing two key foreigners due to injury – Beto and Ranti Martins, many people thought Dempo’s title challenge would fade away in January. But the three time champions have done remarkably well to pick eight points from four matches, which keeps them at the top of the I-League table.
In a league where foreigners get most of the headlines, Dempo have set a great example by leading the table despite playing an all Indian side for the majority of January. The fixture list somewhat favoured them as two out of the four matches of the month were against relegation contenders – Air India and Sporting Clude de Goa. But we have seen title contenders like Churchill and Bagan struggle without their foreign stars so Dempo did a good job to get maximum points from those games.
Dempo were also held to two draws last month but going by the way those matches went, Armando Colaco wouldn’t be too disappointed. His side showed a lot of character and determination in the 1-1 draw against Chirag as the Kolkata side certainly had the better of the play. Then In the goalless draw with East Bengal, Dempo failed to create chances but did enough as a team to keep their first clean sheet of the campaign and earned a valuable point which maintained their status as the league leaders.
The absence of the foreigners didn’t stop Dempo from playing their quality passing game which we always expect from the Goan giants. Even without the artistry of Beto and the finishing of Ranti Martins, Armando Colaco’s team has continued to play with style.
The presence of Indian international Mahesh Gawli has also helped them tighten up defensively. In the Federation Cup they did look vulnerable at the back with goalkeeper Tyson Caiado having a nightmare. But Laxmikant Kattimani has looked much more confident under the bar and has made some important saves in recent matches.
Probably, the biggest positive that Armando Colaco can take from this period, is the good form of Peter Carvalho and Joaquim Abranches. Under normal circumstances, the two are unlikely to feature in the the starting lineup but injuries to the foreigners gave both Carvalho and Abranches the chance to play regularly and their performances suggests that they have certainly made the most of their rare first team opportunities.
Peter Carvalho has been tireless in central midfield and has also chipped in with two important goals. Coach Colaco has praised the midfielder’s contribution and said that on current form Carvalho deserves to be in the national team.
India Under-23 international Joaquim Abranches has shown glimpses of his talent by scoring twice in four games and has also formed a good understanding with Sunil Chhetri. He hardly gets to play upfront when Ranti Martins is fit so if he can continue this way for the rest of the season, Colaco will have a welcome headache of picking just two out of three quality strikers for his eleven.
Dempo end the first half of the season with a home tie against fellow title contenders Mohun Bagan and only a win will guarantee them pole position going into the second break of the campaign. Injuries to Samir Naik and Clifford Miranda is a big blow but so far this season Dempo have coped better with knocks than most other teams.
A point from this fixture will not be the worst result as Dempo will stay close to the top and might even remain in pole positon if Mahindra fail to beat Pune. But even a defeat will not be able to take away their achievement in January as they have shown the rest of the country that it is possible to be the best even without foreign players.
In a league where foreigners get most of the headlines, Dempo have set a great example by leading the table despite playing an all Indian side for the majority of January. The fixture list somewhat favoured them as two out of the four matches of the month were against relegation contenders – Air India and Sporting Clude de Goa. But we have seen title contenders like Churchill and Bagan struggle without their foreign stars so Dempo did a good job to get maximum points from those games.
Dempo were also held to two draws last month but going by the way those matches went, Armando Colaco wouldn’t be too disappointed. His side showed a lot of character and determination in the 1-1 draw against Chirag as the Kolkata side certainly had the better of the play. Then In the goalless draw with East Bengal, Dempo failed to create chances but did enough as a team to keep their first clean sheet of the campaign and earned a valuable point which maintained their status as the league leaders.
The absence of the foreigners didn’t stop Dempo from playing their quality passing game which we always expect from the Goan giants. Even without the artistry of Beto and the finishing of Ranti Martins, Armando Colaco’s team has continued to play with style.
The presence of Indian international Mahesh Gawli has also helped them tighten up defensively. In the Federation Cup they did look vulnerable at the back with goalkeeper Tyson Caiado having a nightmare. But Laxmikant Kattimani has looked much more confident under the bar and has made some important saves in recent matches.
Probably, the biggest positive that Armando Colaco can take from this period, is the good form of Peter Carvalho and Joaquim Abranches. Under normal circumstances, the two are unlikely to feature in the the starting lineup but injuries to the foreigners gave both Carvalho and Abranches the chance to play regularly and their performances suggests that they have certainly made the most of their rare first team opportunities.
Peter Carvalho has been tireless in central midfield and has also chipped in with two important goals. Coach Colaco has praised the midfielder’s contribution and said that on current form Carvalho deserves to be in the national team.
India Under-23 international Joaquim Abranches has shown glimpses of his talent by scoring twice in four games and has also formed a good understanding with Sunil Chhetri. He hardly gets to play upfront when Ranti Martins is fit so if he can continue this way for the rest of the season, Colaco will have a welcome headache of picking just two out of three quality strikers for his eleven.
Dempo end the first half of the season with a home tie against fellow title contenders Mohun Bagan and only a win will guarantee them pole position going into the second break of the campaign. Injuries to Samir Naik and Clifford Miranda is a big blow but so far this season Dempo have coped better with knocks than most other teams.
A point from this fixture will not be the worst result as Dempo will stay close to the top and might even remain in pole positon if Mahindra fail to beat Pune. But even a defeat will not be able to take away their achievement in January as they have shown the rest of the country that it is possible to be the best even without foreign players.
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