Indian Women's League: Seventh heaven for Gokulam Kerala

Sabitra Bhandari scored five goals in the southerners' win.

Gokulam Kerala registered yet another resounding Indian Women's League victory, this time by an astounding margin of 7-0 over Odisha Police at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Saturday. Sabitra Bhandari’s five-goal haul made all the headlines, with Agbo Esperence and Grace Lalhauhnar also joining the fray with two late goals. The two halves were quite contrasting in nature. While the first was quite closely contested, the second was one-way traffic. Sabitra Bhandari opened the scoring in the seventh minute, with a volley from the edge of the box which left the keeper with no chance. Odisha Police were still in the game going into half-time but the second half erupted like a volcano. Bhandari made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute after chasing down a loose clearance and heading it past the onrushing Odisha Police keeper Tikina Samal. The Nepal international completed her hat-trick just a minute later through a brilliant solo effort, going past three defenders and slotting it home. [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] With the match ball in her bag, Bhandari wasn’t done yet. She added her fourth in the 74th minute by converting a seemingly speculative cross and a fifth one by rounding off the keeper. There was a shout for offside, but the flag stayed down. Bhandari was replaced by Agbo Esperence in the 86th minute, to a huge round of applause. The substitute, who hails from Ivory Coast, made it 6-0 in the 90th minute, rounding off a wonderful solo effort. The seventh goal came from Grace Hauhnar in stoppage time as the match drew to a close. The win further consolidates Gokulam’s position as Group B’s kingpins with nine points in three games, while Odisha Police remain at fifth with three points. Banga;ore United, Sreebhumi in goalless stalemate Local side Bangalore United FC played out an entertaining 0-0 draw with West Bengal’s Sreebhumi FC at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Saturday. The result also registers the first goalless match of the 4th Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL). Chances were aplenty, with both sides squandering a catalogue of opportunities. Tanvie Hans and Satyabati Hadia linked up well for BUFC, while Sreebhumi’s Ritu Devi posed a constant threat over the course of the game. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="RELATED NEWS | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] The game sprung to life in the final ten minutes of the match, with both sides earning glorious chances. The best one came to BUFC in the 83rd minute as a slew of errors in the Sreebhumi box saw BUFC’s Paromita Sit miss a sitter in a 1v1 situation. With the goal gaping, she had a second go but her effort was cleared off the line as the crowd drew a collective gasp. Both goalkeepers, Vinaya Seshan of BUFC and Rumpa Malik of Sreebhumi had fantastic games as they both kept clean sheets and helped their team earn a point apiece.