East Bengal FC begin AWCL Preliminary Stage with dominant win over Rajshahi Stars

Red & Gold will face Rovers FC next.

East Bengal FC hardly put a foot wrong as they began their AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27 Preliminary Stage campaign in style with a 4-0 win against Rajshahi Stars FC (Bangladesh) at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on Monday, August 17, 2026.

Ghanaian Olivia Anokye scored twice, while India internationals Astam Oraon and Soumya Guguloth netted once each to wrap up a dominant victory. Anthony Andrews’ side will look to build on their momentum against Guam’s Rovers FC on Thursday and hosts Sabah FA on Sunday. Only the group winners will qualify for the group stage.

East Bengal displayed a dominant display

The reigning champions of India, East Bengal FC started their journey with a very dominant first-half performance against Bangladesh’s Rajshahi Stars as they led the first 45 minutes with a 3-0 scoreline, displaying attacking intent with their brand of football.

With the help of Anokye, her forward transitional play created a great chance where she slotted the goal from a penalty spot to edged past the opponent’s goalkeeper as East Bengal FC broke the deadlock at the 10th minute of the game and following her goal in the first half, Red & Gold’s defender Astam Oraon also fond the back of the net at the 25th minute giving her side a comfortable cushion to relax. Anokye, who scored the first goal for the Moshal girls, again bagged another and completed her brace, which gave the Indian side their third goal and almost secured their victory in the first game.

Soumya, Anokye and Astam seal a dominant win

East Bengal FC dominated the second half after making their mark in the opening period, scoring three goals through Anokye’s brace and Astam Oraon’s solitary strike.

But from the very start of the second phase of the match till the 60th minute they had the entire control of the ball as the Rajshahi Stars side occasionally tried to snatch the ball and look to play their football. In the 65th minute, Ashalata Devi came off the bench to replace Bengal-born forward Rimpa Halder, who looked very off in this game as she didn’t get those many touches on the ball.

And just after the substitution, Rajshahi had a good opportunity from the corner as the corner kick was well operated but Astam Oraon however, cleared the dangerous ball.

Soumya Guguloth made it 4-0 for the Torchbearers in the 71st minute, calmly slotting the ball into the net after the opposition goalkeeper badly misjudged it, allowing East Bengal to add another goal. After scoring the goal, they were focused on slowing down the pace of the match, but Rajshahi Stars made iy difficult for the Bengal outfit as in the final minutes, Rajshahi Stars created a few promising chances. Although they were not particularly impressive, they managed to challenge East Bengal’s dominance and apply some pressure.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.