Dempo lost the first leg of the AFC Cup semi-final by a solitary goal. They managed to keep their opponents at bay till the very end before Safa SC scored the winning goal in the last minute. A draw would have made Dempo firm favourites to advance to the final. But now Safa have a slight edge and Dempo are to blame. Not for the goal they let in but for the goals they never tried to score in the first leg.
Dempo ka tempo high ho!
All football fans know (from years of watching the UEFA Champions League) that away goals are vital. Now Dempo need to score in the second leg – and they will have to come out and attack. Safa can just sit back and hit them on the counter. Dempo will be under pressure to score and sometimes this pressure really makes matters worse. I am sure the Lebanese side will not play to just avoid letting in a goal as Dempo did in the first leg. They know that if they score even once it becomes a gigantic task for Dempo – they will need to score thrice. The 1-0 advantage from the first leg looks a lot bigger in a two legged play off.
And what pains me the most is that Dempo had no reason to play so defensively. They should have taken heart from their last performance on the road – a stunning 3-2 away win over Home United. Instead, they got intimidated by the seven goals that Safa scored over two legs in their quarter final victory. By refusing to attack and not putting pressure on their opponents defence, they let the Lebanese camp in their penalty area. And sooner or later something was bound to give. Not only could they have diffused the Safa attacks by threading some attacks of their own, they could have even nicked a crucial away goal.
But all is not lost – Its one measly goal after all. Dempo just needs to make the home conditions really count. The crowd should get behind the home team and scare the living daylights out of the Safa side. The Goan side should get off the blocks super fast and try and get an early goal- even before the Safa team can settle down. This will calm them down and then they can play without a sword hanging over their head. If they can manage to do that, I would trust them to get a second one also – something which will seal the tie in their favour. A penalty shoot-out is best avoided.
Mr Colcao, your side has got amazing firepower. The Lebanese need to feel the heat of this power. Just let your wards loose at them from the word go. Trust me they will make you proud again.
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Go Dempo Go – part 1
