Indian Arrows decimate Mata Rukmani, Sethu extend winning run in IWL

Indian Arrows and Set FC wins while PIFA Sports shared point with ARA FC in IWL.

PIFA Sports held ARA FC to a 1-1 draw in the Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2022 at the Capital Ground in Bhubaneswar, on Friday, May 13.

The team from Ahmedabad took the lead in the early stage of the game and showed much composure behind the ball. Skipper Anju made a penetrating run through the PIFA Sports defence and caught the goalkeeper out from distance to make it 1-0 in ARA FC’s favour in the 15th minute.

The two sides looked evenly matched at the halftime break as both shared a similar amount of ball possession and attempts. Yet, ARA FC managed to hold onto their lead until the 70th minute of the game.

PIFA Sports kept pressuring the ARA FC defence with Nisilia Majaw coming tantalisingly close to scoring in the 71st minute. Finally, it was the substitute Akanksha Kandalkar who pulled one back for the Mumbai side in the 73rd minute. The forward controlled the ball off a corner kick, beat a defender and took her chance from the edge of the box to find the back of the net. 

It was an end-to-end encounter between the two sides, who shared almost equal number of shots on goal. Eventually, the game ended with both teams scoring a goal apiece and heading home with a point each.

Sethu FC sails past Odisha Police comfortably

Sethu FC picked up a comfortable 3-0 win over Odisha Police in their Hero Indian Women’s League 2022 fixture at the 7th Battalion Ground in Bhubaneswar, on Friday, May 13, 2022.

The former champions of the Hero IWL were at the top of their game right from kickoff. Devneta Roy found an opportunity in the opening minutes but her header was picked out by Odisha Police goalkeeper Rajeswari Das. Subsequently, Sethu FC found another breakthrough in the 15th minute. However, this time Sandhiya Ranganathan was flagged offside.

At the other end, Sarojini Tirkey twice came close for Odisha Police, but the forward couldn’t capitalise on the opportunities. Finally, in the 27th minute, Sandhiya Ranganathan gave Sethu FC the lead via a powerful shot into the bottom corner.

Devneta Roy made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute as she beat the goalkeeper from inside the box. Sethu FC took the driver’s seat in the game and looked certain to take the three points home. In the 38th minute, the Tamil Nadu based side had a chance to put the game to bed, but Odisha Police goalkeeper Rajeswari Das had other plans.

Arifa Zaheer stepped up to take the penalty, but her shot was parried away by Das to maintain the score 2-0 in favour of Sethu FC.

Following the restart, both sides came close to scoring via Tirkey and Roy respectively, but neither found the back of the net. Eventually, in the 68th minute, Renu Rani stepped in to make it 3-0. Sandhiya’s dangerous cross was misjudged by the Odisha Police goalkeeper and Renu only had to direct the ball towards the goal. 

With the three points in the bag, Sethu FC registered their eighth consecutive victory in the Hero IWL and take the provisional top spot on the league table.

Indian Arrows demolishes Mata Rukmani by four goals

Indian Arrows ran riot in the Hero Indian Women’s League on Friday, May 13, 2022, as they registered a massive 8-0 victory against Mata Rukmani FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Midfielder Priyangka Naorem netted four goal on the night, while forwards Apurna Narzary and Sunita Munda netted a brace each, to complete the drubbing.

Arrows made a quick start to the game with Apurna Narzary opening the scoring in the 11th minute.

Thereafter Priyangka Devi earned a brace for herself to increase the lead for Arrows with two consecutive goals in the 25th and 42nd minutes. Going into the lemon break, it remained 3-0 in favour of the Arrows.

The goal shower started after the breather, as Arrows completely dominated the game. Sunita found the net within five minutes in the second half, to make it 4-0 for her side. Next Priyangka found the net to complete her hat-trick within the 49th minute.

The Arrows created waves of attack, making it difficult for Mata Rukmani to put up much resistance.

Just after the hour mark, the flood gates opened completely. In the 61st minute, Priyangka scored her fourth of the night, followed by Sunita, who scored the 7th goal of the night in the 62nd minute.

Apurna completed the rout for the Arrows, scoring the last goal in the 66th minute, as they ended the game with two goals to her name.

After this win the India Arrows remain fourth on the league table with 16 points from eight games.