Margao, April 11 Dempo SC secured an easy 3-0 victory over Aizawl FC, claiming their second consecutive win in the Indian Football League on Saturday.
Marcus Joseph (43rd), Jose Luis Moreno (53rd), and Sebastián Gutierrez (90th+) scored the goals for Dempo.
Dempo SC moved ahead of their opponents to fifth in the standings with nine points from nine matches, while Aizawl dropped to sixth with the same number of points.
Aizawl FC appeared to be the better side in the first half, displaying clear attacking intent and keeping the Dempo defense busy.
Ashish Siby was the busier of the two goalkeepers, making multiple interventions inside the box, including a sharp save to deny Laltlanzova's long-range effort. K Vanlalhriatzuala also had a chance from the edge of the box but failed to keep his shot on target.
On the other end, Dempo SC were patient in their build-up, looking to play out from the back, but struggled to create clear openings for their front pair of Marcus Joseph and Richmond Owusu.
The only time the opposition goalkeeper was tested came from Saiesh Bagkar, whose long-range effort was on target.
The home side took the lead just before the break against the run of play. H. Lalrempuia failed to deal with a pass from midfield, and Kapil Hoble capitalized on the error to deliver an inviting cross into the box that found Saiesh.
The full-back controlled it well, beat his marker, and aimed a shot towards the bottom corner. The goalkeeper, who appeared to have it covered, was wrong-footed as the ball took a wicked deflection off Marcus Joseph and ended up in the back of the net.
Dempo carried their momentum into the second half, creating two goalscoring opportunities within five minutes of the restart. Aubin Kouakou was unable to keep his header on target from a corner, while Marcus, left in acres of space inside the box, also failed to hit the target.
The home side then doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute from a corner kick. Kapil Hoble's delivery was powerfully met by Saiesh Bagkar, forcing an acrobatic save from Aizawl goalkeeper Lalhruaitluanga, but the rebound fell kindly to Jose Luis Moreno, who made no mistake in slotting it into the net.
Aizawl were awarded a penalty just after the hour mark after a defender was brought down inside the box. Zomuansanga stepped up to take the spot-kick but was denied by Ashish Siby, who produced a brilliant save diving to his right to keep his side's lead intact.
The People's Club pushed numbers forward in order to salvage something from the game but were finding it tough to break the Dempo defense who were content to retreat back and defend their own box.
The home side eventually finished off the game in injury time with substitute Sebastián Gutiérrez putting the finishing touches to a counter attack.
The hosts maintained their lead and saw off the rest of the game for their second consecutive victory and move into the top six of the table.