Rajasthan United Complete Stunning Second-Half Comeback to Defeat Dempo SC and Cement Third Place in IFL

Football, as it so often does, saved its best moments for the second half. Rajasthan United FC arrived at the PJN Stadium in Margao trailing 1-0 at the interval after a first half in which Dempo SC had been the sharper, more purposeful side. 

What followed after the restart was a complete reversal of fortune two goals in ten second-half minutes, a defensive rearguard that held firm through sustained late pressure, and ultimately a 2-1 comeback victory that moves Rajasthan United into third place in the Star Cement Indian Football League 2025-26 standings with 17 points from nine matches.

For Dempo SC, it was a result that stings as much as it confounds. They were the better side for large parts of the contest, dominated the first half with organised, purposeful football, and took a deserved lead through Marcus Joseph. But their inability to add a second goal when the opportunity presented itself, combined with a defensive vulnerability that Rajasthan ruthlessly exploited from set-pieces and wide deliveries early in the second half, cost them dearly. The Golden Eagles remain sixth with nine points from nine matches, and the gap to the top three has grown a little wider.

Dempo's dominance in the opening exchanges was immediately apparent. Joseph tested keeper James Kithan inside the first minute with a strike from distance that forced a diving save, and Kithan was called into action again just four minutes later to deny Knerkitalang Buam from close range. The Golden Eagles used the width of the PJN Stadium effectively, pressing high and disrupting Rajasthan's attempts to build from the back with an organised defensive press that made the visitors look uncomfortable throughout the opening phase.

The goal that their first-half performance deserved arrived in the 22nd minute through a well-worked move from the right flank. Nestor Dias received the ball and laid it into the path of Joseph, who controlled on his chest with admirable technique before finishing on the half-volley a strike of genuine quality that gave Kithan no chance. Dempo continued to advance through the flanks after taking the lead, and a lapse of concentration from Rajasthan in the 34th minute nearly doubled their advantage, with Pragyan Sundar Gogoi dispossessed under pressure from Richmond Kwasi Owusu before Kithan reacted sharply to clear the danger.

Rajasthan's first-half attacking play was largely ineffective. Gerard Artigas and Pangambam Naoba Meitei struggled to deliver effective crosses from wide areas, and while Artigas did find space for an effort in the 41st minute, the shot was comfortably claimed by goalkeeper Ashish Sibi. Rajasthan ended the half on a slightly more positive note, pushing bodies forward and showing greater urgency, but Dempo's defensive structure held firm and they carried their lead into the break.

The second half began where the first had ended with Rajasthan pushing forward but this time the rewards came almost immediately. Within two minutes of the restart, Meitei delivered a precise cross from the right that found Artigas at the far post, and the Spaniard headed the ball into the net despite Sibi getting a hand to it. The equaliser transformed the contest entirely, injecting Rajasthan with momentum and purpose while visibly unsettling a Dempo side that had looked so composed just minutes earlier.

The decisive moment came in the 57th minute and required only the cleanest of executions. Novin Gurung delivered a cross from the right, and Thomyo Shimray introduced as a substitute met it with a first-time volley that left Sibi with no chance. Ten minutes of second-half football had completely overturned a first-half narrative.

Dempo's attempts to respond were admirable but ultimately futile. They came closest in the 82nd minute when Gutierrez struck from close range following a corner, only for Kithan to produce a sharp reflex save that proved decisive. Despite six minutes of added time and a series of long-range efforts as desperation set in, Rajasthan's rearguard held firm.

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The three points send a message. Rajasthan United are third, in form, and very much in contention for the championship phase of the Indian Football League. Their ability to absorb pressure and strike with devastating efficiency in the second half is the hallmark of a team with genuine ambition and in Margao on Sunday, that ambition was richly rewarded.