Injury time goal by substitute Peter Carvalho helped defending champions Dempo to come from behind and hold ONGC to a 1-1 draw in the 18th round of the I-League played at Duler stadium, Mapusa, on Sunday.
Dempo who are placed third, took their tally to 34 points from 17 matches while ONGC, who are placed seventh, now have 21 points from 17 matches.
ONGC went on the offensive from the start with midfielder Jatin Bist coming close to scoring on couple of occasions. It was he who broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when he guided the ball into the net off a free kick taken by Eric Brown beating keeper Subbhasish Roychowdhury to have ONGC leading 1-0 at half time.
Dempo took time to settle down but found their momentum as the match wore on.
Climax Lawrence controlled the midfield sending passes to the strikers but found it difficult to get past the rival defenders who guarded their citadel resolutely.
Valeriano Rebello worked hard on the right to send couple of teasing crosses but rival keeper Rehaenesh T P came to his side's rescue denying Koko and Godwin Franco from scoring.
Dempo, who did not look threatening after the change of ends, tried to play Godwin Franco on the right flank but to no avail. They had a chance to restore parity soon after the break but Anthony Pereira’s shot was saved by the rival keeper.
However, they found the equaliser in stoppage time when Godwin Franco's shot at the goal was blocked by keeper Rehaenesh but the ball fell at the feet of substitute Peter Carvalho who tapped it into the net from close and gave his team a valuable point.
United hold Mohun Bagan
Ranty Martins found the target one minute before regulation time to help UnitedSC hold Mohun
Bagan 1-1 in their I-League fixture at Kalyani as the green and maroon brigade continued their winless streak after their ban was revoked.
Tolgay Ozbey found the lead for Mohun Bagan in the 48th minute but Martins spoiled their joy to extend Bagan's stay at the bottom of the league standings with two points.
