Dempo were held to a 1-1 draw at their home by Mahindra but today things were different. The win also saw the home team get over their Cooperage jinx.

Dempo dominated from the start. In the 18th minute Sukhwinder Singh stole the ball from Dempo's Brazilian medio Roberto Mendez Silva and went past two defenders and headed towards the goal. Though he had for company striker Andrews Mensah, but Singh went solo and with a brilliant left footer beat the goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal.

After this unexpected goal Dempo went into a slump and never recovered. Mahindra came closer to extending their lead but Mensah's header failed to find the target off a Steven Dias cross.

Mensah made amends in the 31st minute with a stunning goal. He swirled and took a waist high shot from the penalty area and once again Mondal was beaten.

In the second half, Dempo found their rhythm. Strikers Ranti Martins, Chidi Edeh and Anthony Fernandes made headway but the Mahindra United's defence line foiled their attempts. Nigerian Belo Rasaq did a great job of marking star strikers Chidi and Ranti.

"As a defender it is my duty to tackle the strikers. I cannot think of getting hurt," said Mahindra United's defender Sunil Kumar, who played in the Federation cup but was playing his first I-League encounter. Mahindra coach Derrick Pereira said, "Sunil showed promise in the practice sessions. He made a difference with Belo Rasaq in the defence. I hope he continues his form."

Mahindras increased their lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute when their Ivorian medio Douhou Pierre received the ball from Mensah from the half line and moved ahead. He beat Dempo defender Valeriano Rebello and finally slotted the ball past the keeper.

Dempo's lone goal came in the 89th minute when Ranti Martins headed the ball off Anthony Pereira's cross.

The elated Mahindra United coach Pereira dedicated the win to the entire team. "It was a team effort. Dempo is a big team, they put pressure on us in the initial few minutes but my players did well in sustaining it," he said.