Margao: Helped by Ranty Martins' second-half strike, Dempo Sports Club defeated Salgaocar SC 1-0 to emerge as the Kingfisher Super Cup champion here on Tuesday.
After a barren first half at Nehru Stadium, which saw the play confined to midfield, Dempo, which had better share of exchanges, broke the deadlock in the 74th minute after coming close to scoring on a few occasions.
Defender Godwin Franco split the Salgaocar defence and passed on the ball into the box for Martins. Salgaocar keeper Vinay Singh, sensing trouble, came out of his charge to thwart Martins, who chipped the ball over his head into the net.
A few minutes later, Peter Carvalho could have extended the lead but his stiff grounder was put out by rival keeper Vinay Singh for an abortive corner.
Salgaocar, who were looking to raise their confidence ahead of their AFC Cup match against Neftchi (Uzbekistan) on March 21, failed to organise themselves on the flanks which helped their rival to dominate the midfield and have the lion's share of exchanges and scoring chances.
The title win will help Dempo go into the I-League championship with more confidence when the tournament begins on March 24.
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