Salgaocar goalkeeper Karanjit Singh made some good saves to deny Dempo a victory as the Hero I-League match between the two sides ended in a goalless draw at the Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday.
Dempo, who had the lion’s share of ball possession, created more scoring chances but failed to get past Karanjit who brought off at least six saves to deny them the much-needed victory to remain out of relegation zone. With on Wednesday’s draw, both the teams remained on 18 points each from 18 matches. Dempo, who have a better goal difference, moved to eighth position. Salgaocar <g data-gr-id="23">are</g> below them on ninth, while Bharat FC are placed last with 18 points.
Both the teams started positively and matched evenly in the barren first half.
Salgaocar were more organized in attack but could not penetrate deep into <g data-gr-id="20">rival</g> box as Dempo defenders kept their striker Darryl Duffy in check.
Duffy, who was closely marked, had the first chance to put his team <g data-gr-id="22">ahead</g> but his try was well collected by Dempo keeper Laxmikant Kattmani off a pass from Rocus Lamare.
On the Other hand, Dempo came close to scoring twice but rival keeper Karanjit thwarted <g data-gr-id="41"><g data-gr-id="40">their</g></g>
attempts. He blocked a powerful long range shot from <g data-gr-id="25">Pronay</g> Halder and later, he made a diving save of a Tolgay Ozbey left-footed strike.
Dempo pushed Salgaocar on the backfoot in the second half and were all over the rival box but failed to find the elusive goal as keeper Karanjit came out with good saves to deny Jewel Raja, <g data-gr-id="28">Pronay</g> Halder and Tolgay Ozbey from scoring. Tolgay was unlucky not to find the net towards the end of the match when he tried to flick the ball over keeper Karanjit from an acute angle on the left but the ball bounced from the crossbar and was later cleared by a defender.
Mumbai FC <g data-gr-id="44">get</g> past East Bengal
Mumbai FC pulled off a crucial 2-1 victory over East Bengal in their I-League football match at the Cooperage ground here on Wednesday.
Goals from seasoned <g data-gr-id="54">medio</g> Paresh Shivalkar, who scored off a free-kick, and Brazilian striker Josimar in the first half gave the home side, who were in danger of falling into the relegation zone, the lead. Ranti Martins pulled a goal back in the second half, which was not enough for the Kolkata side as Khalid Jamil’s men ran out <g data-gr-id="55">creditable</g> winners.
The victory boosted Mumbai FC to the sixth spot with 21 points and a game in hand against league debutantes Bharat FC while East Bengal, who suffered their sixth loss in 18 games, maintained their fourth spot on the table. Mumbai FC <g data-gr-id="58">were</g> off to a superb start when their Japanese <g data-gr-id="57">medio</g> Taisuke was brought down on the edge of the box by Sukhwinder Singh. Shivalkar’s resultant free-kick sailed into the top corner of the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the third minute.