A death, extended mourning, some anxious moments in the last round of the National Football League (NFL) -- Dempo Sports Club overcame these and more to win their maiden title.

The NFL title Saturday came as a bonus for Dempo after they had won the Federation Cup, though at the cost of Cristiano Junior's life, in December. Junior died after a rough tackle during a match.

If anything, the Goan club seemed determined to win the NFL title after Junior's death, to pay their tribute and respect to the versatile player.

And Dempo coach Armando Colaco said as much before and after the club's last NFL match against Tollygunge at Goa Saturday. An emotional Colaco dedicated the title to Junior's memory.

Dempo, who started the last round encounter sitting in the second place - one point behind Sporting de Clube - beat Tollygunge 2-0 to take their points tally to an unmatched 47 for the title.

But they would still not have clinched the title had favourites Sporting de Clube beaten Mahindra United. But Mahindra upset Sporting 3-1 in an encounter played simultaneously in Goa Saturday, and title aspirants Sporting finished with 45 points, two less than the champions.

The winner of the previous two years, East Bengal, who finished with 43 points, needed to win by a big margin in their last-round match against an already relegated Vasco and required Dempo and Sporting de Clube to lose in order to win the title through the back door.

What eventually happened was a 1-3 loss for East Bengal, a win for Dempo and a surprise defeat for Sporting de Clube.

Twelve teams contested the NFL, which started in January. After some intense, as well as mediocre, matches the league concluded with the bottom four teams being relegated to Division II for the next season. They are: Churchill Brothers (23 points), Vasco (20), State Bank of Travencore (18) and Tollygunge (17).

Foreign players again dominated the season, especially the strikers, one of whom emerged as the top scorer of the NFL ahead of Indians.

MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi, the African import of Sporting de Clube, scored 21 goals that came as a consolation for a club that came so near winning the coveted title.

Nigerian Ranty Martins Soleye (12 goals) occupied the second place in the top scorers' list.

East Bengal's Bhaichung Bhutia could have given Omagbemi competition, but he missed some matches for different reasons and finished with just nine goals.

Refereeing was another problem that reared its head again during the season. Although the All India Football Federation has promised to look into the issue, more concrete measures are needed.