Chidi's hat-trick for Dempo downs Chirag United

Ludhiana, Sep 7 (UNI) Powered by Chidi Edehs hat-trick, Dempo Sports Club routed Chirag United in a pre-quarter-final match in the 29th edition of the Hero Cycles Federation Cup Soccer Tournament at the Guru Nanak Stadium here this evening.

Chidi, who played for local outfit JCT in the last edition of the National Footbal League (NFL) became the first player to score a hat-trick in this edition of the Federation Cup. With this win Dempo moved into the quarter final from the lower half.

The lanky Chidi got his first goal in the 39th minute when he slid a through pass, past the advancing United goalkeeper Somnath Khare to give his team the lead. The second goal came in the 80th minute when Chidi displayed his dribbling and shooting skills to score give Dempo a 2-0 lead.

He dribbled his way into the middle of the penalty area with a solo effort before unleashing a powerful shot into the net.

The Nigerian completed his unique feat in the 85th minute by scoring his third goal. He sprited upfield and side-stepped Louis Nigi Emami, who was policing him, before sending the ball into the Chirag United goal to put the seal on the match.

Dempo could have won with a wider margin as they had more opportunities to score but somehow missed the target. They missed a number of opportunities in the first half.

In the 72nd minute Chidi moved up with the ball and sent a pass to Jerry Zirsanga, whose shot went sailing over the bar. Then a few minutes later Valeriano Rebello's long ranger was off target.

The best move for Chirag United came in the 28th minute. Shankar Oran had a chance to score after Dempo goalkeeper Abhjit Mondal left his position. However, Oran's shot went wide with an open goal in front of him.

Teams: Dempo SC: Abhijit Mondal, Valeriano Rebellow, John Charles Dias, Mahesh Gawil (Cerassan Antao), Sameer Naik, Jerry Zirsanga, Climax Lawrence, Roberto Mendessilva, Clifford Miranda (Nicolau Borges) , Ranty Martins Soleye (Joaquim Abranches), Chidi Edeh.

Chirag United: Somnath Khare, Dulal Biswas, R Dhanarajan, Louis Nigi Emami, Sasthi Duley (Mrinmoy Chakraborty), Francis Chibueze Maduako, Gourrana Datta, Theodore Sundayk, Wrobeh, Shankar Oraon (Ashim Das Jr) .

Referee: A Arjunan.

UNI