AFC Women's Club Championship Live Commentary: Bunyodkor vs Gokulam Kerala

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6:30 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now's LIVE COVERAGE of Bunyodkor vs Gokulam Kerala in AFC Women's Club Championship 2021. Led by head coach Priya PV, the Malabarians began their campaign against Amman SC on Sunday, faced Shahrdari Sirjan on Wednesday and will now take on Bunyodkor. Kick-off is exactly an hour away!

I'm your host Yash Pratap Singh, and I'll be keeping you company through what promises a fascinating evening of football.

Bunyodkor vs Gokulam Kerala: Building up

Both teams are out of title contention, with Bunyodkor having three points while Gokulam Kerala have yet to register a point. Bunyodkor suffered a setback on Matchday One when they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Shahrdari Sirjan of Islamic Republic of Iran. 

Shahrdari Sirjan scored in either half through Roghayeh Jalal Nasab and Zahra Alizadeh, before Dildora Nozimova hit a late consolation from the penalty spot. Despite losing star player Lyudmila Karachik to injury for the remainder of their campaign, Bunyodkor came out fighting against Jordan's Amman Club with a Nozimova penalty in the final minute of the game clinching them victory.

However, with Shahrdari Sirjan on six points and having a superior head-to-head record, Bunyodkor have no chance of winning the title even if they beat Gokulam Kerala on Saturday.

Gokulam Kerala started positively in their opener against Amman Club, taking a 1-0 lead at half-time through Elshaddai Acheampong’s fine strike. However, Amman Club came back fighting in the second half, netting goals from Maysa Jbarah and Samia Ouni to seal the three points.

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Gokulam Kerala held their own against Shahrdari Sirjan on Matchday Two, but disaster struck in the 65th minute when goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan received her marching orders after bringing down Zahra Alizadeh just above the area. The balance then shifted in Shahrdari Sirjan's favour as they scored the winning goal through a Afsaneh Chatrenoor free-kick.

Except for the suspended Chauhan, head coach Priya PV will be fielding her best side and is eyeing nothing less than victory against the Uzbekistan champions.

“The players are a bit disappointed after the match,” said Priya. “We have a good squad but luck didn't favour us. We could have won both the matches had we not committed silly mistakes. The players want to win the final match and they are determined about that."

“Bunyodkor are an excellent team in every department, they have good players. I think they have played beautifully so far and they have a good attacking game. We need to convert our chances in the final third. That needs to be improved and we need to score more goals.”

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