Striker R C Prakash's brace guided Dempo to a convincing 2-0 win over Churchill Brothers to keep their slim hope for the eighth National Football League title alive at the Nehru Stadium in Margao on Thursday.
Needing a win to stay in contention for the title, Dempo started offensively and after coming close on a couple of occasions, forged ahead in the 34th minute.
With today's win, Dempo, who are on second place, took their tally to 39 points from 20 matches, one point less than leader East Bengal, who have played two matches less than Dempo.
Churchill remain on fourth place with 32 points from 20 matches.
The break came through a defensive lapse when Churchill's reliable defender Osamanu Husseini, who looked sluggish today, failed to clear the ball to safety off Sunday Seah's pass to Prakash. He raced into the box, drew goalkeeper Mark Mascasrenhas out, and gently shot the ball in to have Dempo leading 1-0 at half time.
Enjoying territorial advantage in the second half, Dempo increased the lead in the 64th minute when a move between Prakash and Johny d'Cruz saw the latter's shot being blocked by goalkeeper Mark. The ball then fell on to the path of Prakash, who shot in.
Churchill, who were kept on a tight lease by the rival defence, tried long rangers but goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal rose to the occasion to deny Benjamin Ansah and Yakubu.
Churchill, who showed urgency in their attack in the closing stages, were reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute when defender Firoz got marching orders from referee K Sankar for a dangerous foul on Prakash.