Man of the Match Roberto Silva's scored either side of the half-time to guide Dempo to a convincing 5-2 victory over Salgaocar in a 10th ONGC National Football League match at Nehru stadium in Margao on Sunday.
Dempo who conceded an early goal, scored through a brace by Ranty Martins and Roberto Silva and a goal by Clifford Miranda. Salgaocar reduced the margin through Samson Singh and substitute Bruno Oliveira.
The win takes Dempo to third place with 23 points from 15 matches, behind Mahindra United (32 pts) and East Bengal (28).
Following the defeat, Salgaocar, who are at the bottom with 11 points from 14 matches, now need to win all their remaining three matches to avoid relegation.
Dempo, who dominated the first half, conceded a soft goal in the 10th minute as Salgaocar's Samson Singh's harmless looking shot at the goal saw defender John Dias giving back pass to Abhijit Mondal who moved up, failed to collect the ball which rolled into the net.
Dempo went all out for the equaliser and after coming close to scoring twice found the equaliser in the 35th minute through a penalty, which Ranty Martins converted.
The penalty was awarded after Jerose Oliveira bought down Roberto Silva inside the box.
Thereafter, Dempo piled up pressure and took the lead at the stroke of lemon break after keeper Sangram Mukherjee bought off fine save fisting Ranty Martins left-footer.
Clifford Miranda floated the ball from a flag kick on the right which Roberto Silva found the net with a glancing header.
Roberto Silva then assured Dempo a win when he scored his brace with a rasping shot from the top of the box in the 52 minute.
Salgaocar who put pressure on their opponent pulled one back in the 77th minute when substitute Bruno Oliveira scored through a penalty after a Dempo defender handled the ball inside the box.
Ranty Martins and Clifford Miranda than sealed the fate of Salgaocar with a goal each in the stoppage time to give Dempo a convincing victory.
More from rediff