Gokulam Kerala consolidate top spot, Sethu FC, SSB Women gain places in IWL

Sethu FC now have four wins from four games.

Sethu FC collected crucial three points against Kickstart FC in their Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2021-22 clash at the Capital Ground in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, April 28.

Kioko Elizabeth Katungwa opened the scoring for the Madurai-based side early in the sixth minute. The Kenyan controlled a deflected cross perfectly inside the box and fired in an unstoppable volley from close range to make it 1-0.

Elizabeth went on to double the lead for Sethu FC just before half-time. The forward converted from the left side of the post after Grace Lalrampari Hauhnar provided her with a perfect assist. 

Moments later, Kickstart pulled one back through Kshetrimayum Margaret Devi. The skipper applied some beautiful technique and struck the ball with her first touch from distance. The Sethu goalkeeper could not judge the awkward lift of the ball and it eventually landed into the back of the net.

Kickstart maintained majority of the ball possession throughout the game, but could not avert Sethu’s relentless waves of attack. The scoreline remained 2-1 until full time in Sethu FC’s favour as the side grabbed their fourth consecutive win of the IWL season.

SSB Women complete comeback win over ARA FC

SSB Women snatched a comeback 3-2 victory over ARA FC in the Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2021-22 at the 7th Battalion Ground in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, April 28.

The team from Ahmedabad took the lead in the 5th minute itself. Midfielder Kiran found the back of the net with a strike of the highest quality. However, ARA FC’s celebrations were soon cut short as SSB Women struck back only two minutes later. Skipper Dular Marandi made a good connection with the ball off a low cross into the box and turned it into the goal.

The No. 10 had another chance to score, but sent the ball over the goal in the 16th minute as the scoreline remained 1-1. Nevertheless, before the half hour mark, SSB Women made it 2-1, thanks to Sumila Chanu’s superb footwork inside the box. The team from West Bengal took complete charge of the game thereafter as they kept majority of the ball possession.

In the 43rd minute, Dular Marandi once again proved her class with a classic dummy to beat an ARA FC defender. She went on to curl the ball into the top left corner and made it 3-1 for SSB Women. Over the next half, Kiran and Sumila Chanu both came close to scoring but couldn’t find the target. 

Later in the 81st minute, ARA charged back with their second goal of the game. This time, defender Poonam was the first to react following some confusion between SSB Women defenders and scored off a corner to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, her side settled for the defeat at full time. On the other hand, SSB Women registered their third victory of the IWL campaign.

Gokulam Kerala consolidate top spot with massive win

Gokulam Kerala FC maintained their perfect start to the Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2022 campaign with a 6-1 win over PIFA Sports FC at the Kalinga Stadium on Thursday.

Goals from Win Tun (2), Manisha Kalyan (2), Karishma and Ratan Bala Devi ensured a fourth consecutive win for Anthony Andrews and Co.

Gokulam Kerala FC dominated the ball possession in the early phase of the game. Spurred by a positive start, Karishma and Win Tun came close to scoring for GKFC but were denied by Payal in goal for PIFA. 

The opening goal came shortly after through Win Tun who expertly found the back of the net with a header, just a few minutes before the half-hour mark. GKFC’s lead was doubled three minutes from half time by Manisha Kalyan.

The forward picked the ball on the right wing and found the goal with a powerful left-footed shot towards the far post. Scorer of the opener, Win Tun, scored her second with an easy tap-in, moments before the half time break to extend the advantage to three. 

The second half saw more of Gokulam’s domination as Karishma scored the fourth, three minutes after the restart. However, against all expectations, PIFA scored at the hour mark and ended Gokulam's streak of three clean sheets. 

The Malabarians responded immediately with their fifth goal through Kalyan who scored her second of the night. Ratan Bala Devi also got on the scoresheet with a sensational left-footed curler in the top-left corner to score her side’s sixth.

Gokulam Kerala FC will play their next IWL fixture against Mata Rukmani FC on Sunday, April 30 at the Capital Ground at 3:30 PM (IST) while PIFA Sports FC will aim to win against Sports Odisha on the same day at the Kalinga Stadium at 7:30 PM (IST)