Margao: For all their ball possession – 70% in total – the number of chances created, the 20 attempts, and five shots on target, Dempo Sports Club needed help from their defender to head home a dramatic late winner against FC Bengaluru United at Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Sunday.Dempo had plenty of the ball without really hurting FCBU, who were making their debut in the Indian Football League (IFL) after years of trying. When eight minutes of stoppage time was shown, it seemed as if the teams would be forced to settle for a point each.Dempo pushed hard, came agonisingly close in added on time, and in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Ghanaian defender Uzziel Budu’s glanced header struck the inside of the post and, fortunately for the home side, sailed inside the net.“I feel we started really well,” said Dempo coach Samir Naik. “We dominated the entire first half, and in the second, created so many chances. We finally scored in the last minute for an important win. We are a young team and need to learn a lot. We are learning every day.”Dempo did start well. They moved the ball quickly, created chances too, but the two forwards, Brazilian striker Cledson da Silva and Richmond Owusu, got nowhere near scoring a goal. Cledson, in fact, had a debut to forget.In the first half, it was Laximanrao Rane who had the best efforts. One sailed over the crossbar, and another attempt was held skilfully by goalkeeper Manjunath Hirekurbar.In the second session, FCBU showed greater attacking intent on the transition.A header from a corner kick had sailed just wide in the first half. In the second, the visitors came agonisingly close to taking the lead when Russian forward Marat Tareck made a fine run behind the Dempo backline, but a heavy touch allowed Dempo goalkeeper Subhajit Bhattacharjee to smother the danger.Dempo responded at the other end and won a corner kick, from which defender Athul Unnikrishnan rose to meet the delivery, only to send his header off target.Dempo pushed forward in search of a late breakthrough.In the 80th minute, Dempo carved out their best opportunity from open play when skipper Owusu delivered an inch-perfect pass to find Saiesh Bagkar inside the penalty box, only for his goal-bound shot to be bravely blocked by the Bengaluru defence.With eight minutes of added time indicated, that missed chance initially appeared anticlimactic for the hosts, and for large moments it looked as though Bengaluru would return home with a well-earned point. However, a moment of brilliance in the eighth minute of stoppage time changed everything.Winning a corner in the final minute, Arnold Oliveira whipped a delivery into the box where Budu timed his jump to perfection to glance a precise header into the net.
