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Two goals from Tolgay Ozbey, one each in both half, led an impressive Dempo to a 2-0 win over fellow Goan opponents Salgaocar. With this win, Dempo, also become the first finalists of the Hero Federation Cup 2015.
The in form Ozbey, who led Dempo's attacking line, proved that luck favours the brave. His constant pressure on the Salgaocar defence in the early stages of the match reaped fruit in the 12th minute when Francis Fernandes's long shot, which was wickedly deflected by Ozbey's back, ended up in the back of the net, confusing Indian veteran Subrata Paul. Although the goal was first accredited to Francis Fernandes, it was later rectified to a Tolgay Ozbey goal.
The striker continued to wreak havoc in Salgaocar's defence even in the second half. Following a tacky one touch move, Romeo Fernandes released Ozbey into the penalty box with the ball in his stride. A bombarding Ozbey was then abruptly brought down by a tackle from Subarata Paul. Confidently, Ozbey stepped up to make the most of this opportunity and slotted the ball comfortably into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Dempo dominate possession and pressed hard
Dempo's brilliance in the early stages, was pretty much evident, The Golden Eagles, dominated possession and pressurized Salgaocar's defense to leak balls. The absence of Darryl Duffy led Salgaocar to vacate space in the midfield region and the Greens' coach rightly rectified this error by introducing Clifton Dias in the 28th minute. An early substitution worked wonders for Salgaocar as the Green Brigade dug their roots into the ground and started to dominate proceedings.
They were handed a brilliant opportunity to equalize in the 40th minute when a precise defence splitting cross into the box was scooped wide by Douho Pierre. Although, a resilient Salgaocar came out of the tunnel in the second half, their attempts were matched equally by a stubborn Dempo defence.
The Dempo contingent hunted in numbers and pressed from higher up the park. With Salgaocar committing men in attack whilst vacating space in midfield, and the Golden Eagles relying on counterattacks, the pace of Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai and Holicharan proved a thorn in the Greens' defence. Subrata Paul, who probably kept Salgaocar in the match for the better part of the second half, made a point blank save in the 72nd minute to deny Holicharan from close range.
With this win, Dempo Sports Club, who are the favourites to win this tournament, entered the final of the Hero Federation Cup where they await the winner of the second semi-final between Sporting Clube de Goa and Bengaluru FC.
