Pune FC hold Dempo in I-League final round

Dempo, who have already clinched the title, thus finished their league engagement with a tally to 54 points from 26 matches.Clifford Miranda helped Dempo surge ahead in the sixth minute but Pune FC's Izumi Arata drew parity in the 18th minute, after which neither party could open the goalmouth.

Debutant Pune FC, who needed an outright win to finish second are lying with 42 points, two points ahead of last edition's winner Churchill Brothers.Churchill play Air India here tomorrow and a win will take them to the second place.Dempo, although without two foreigners, controlled the proceeding in the first half with short quick passes and took an early lead in the sixth minute.       

Climax Lawrence, who controlled the midfield along with Peter Carvalho, laid a pass to Clifford Miranda who chested the ball and essayed a volley to find the back of the net.
Anthony Pereira, who played well on the right, had a good chance to increase the lead in the 16th minute but he missed the target off a Anwar Ali pass.

Pune FC showed lot of determination and restored parity in the 18th minute.
Douhou Pierre from the middle split the rival defence with a pass to Arata who after taking a rival defender in his stride placed the ball into the net.  Dempo, who dictated the terms in the middle, put the rival defence under severe pressure but found Pune custodian Subrata Paul a tough nut to crack as he denied Miranda and Clifton Gonsalves from scoring.

Earlier, Dempo were unlucky as Carvalho's well directed shot off a Pereira pass hit the bar and off the rebound Clifford shot out.The second half was a midfield affairs with both the teams not showing the killer instinct and application to score.Pune, who made two changes in the closing stage of the game, came close to breaking the deadlock but substitute Jeje missed the target narrowly.