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Armando Colaco’s return to Goa with a clash against his beloved Dempo SC was soured by a solitary goal defeat for East Bengal Club at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Sunday evening.
Colaco had guided Dempo to an unprecedented five national titles and coached Dempo for 13 years before moving East Bengal a couple of months ago. Armando returned to Goa with East Bengal and squared up to his former club but there were no concessions as ex-East Bengal striker Tolgay Ozbey scored the only goal against the 10-man red-and-gold.
East Bengal called the shots at the start and controlled the proceedings amicably but with Gurwinder Singh sent off for a challenge on Haroon Amiri in the 44th minute, East Bengal were left with their backs against the wall. Dempo eventually grew in confidence and Tolgay helped Dempo win all three points with a smart header in the 70th minute.
East Bengal will be disappointed that they got nothing from this match, especially for the manner in which they started the game. Nigerian striker Edeh Chidi and Japanese midfielder Ryuji Sueoka were in fine fettle at the start and seemed to push Dempo in their own half for a majority of the first half.
Shylo Malsawm Tulunga had a powerful shot blocked by Dempo goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani and then Ryuji Sueoka’s attempt landed straight into the waiting hands of the goalkeeper.
For Dempo SC, Beto had the first look at the rival goal but his shot did not test Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Another attempt went abegging when Tolgay’s through ball for Alwyn George did not get the desired result. The match then took a different course when Gurwinder was sent off for a controversial foul on Amiri, reducing East Bengal’s dominance.
In the second session, Dempo took advantage of the numerical advantage and got the result they were looking for in the 70th minute when a fine cross from Clifford Miranda saw Tolgay jump high and nod home at the far post.
