Kickstart FC defeated East Bengal FC 3-1 to successfully wrap up the ninth round of the Indian Women’s League (IWL). Gokulam Kerala FC had a dominating 5-1 victory over HOPS FC, while Sporting Odisha’s terrible campaign continued with a 3-1 setback over local rivals Odisha FC. As we conclude another round of action, let’s take a closer look at some of the significant moments from each game.
Soumya Guguloth, Anju Tamang stars as Gokulam Kerala win 5-1
In the opening match of IWL Round 9, Gokulam Kerala FC, the reigning champions, took on HOPS FC. With only a few points separating them from league leaders Odisha FC before this match, the Malabarians were sitting second in the standings, while HOPS FC held fourth place in the league with ten points from seven games. With back-to-back league victories under their belts, both clubs entered this match in decent form.
Soumya Guguloth scored the first goal for Gokulam Kerala FC in the 37th minute after an excellent assist from Anju Tamang. A few minutes later, Anju Tamang increased the Malabarians’ lead with a header from a very tight angle. Just when HOPS FC were looking to head into the half-time break with a 2-0 deficit, Soumya increased the advantage with an incredible header at the far post from Anju Tamang’s left-footed cross.
Soumya Guguloth scored her third goal of the game when she forced the ball past Anshika, the opposition goalie, around the hour mark. Anju Tamang assisted all three goals for Guguloth’s hat-trick, proving to be the source for the goal once more. Anju Tamang scored Gokulam’s fifth goal in the 75th minute after Sandhya Ranganathan set it up. The game concluded 5-1, with Fredrica Torkudzor, the top scorer for HOPS FC in the ongoing IWL, scoring a consolation goal in stoppage time. Anju Tamanag and Soumya Guguloth were the standout players; Soumya scored three goals while Anju added a brace in addition to three assists.
Sports Odisha’s struggle continues as Odisha extends unbeaten run in IWL
Odisha Derby was the second game of the round. It was a matchup between Odisha FC and Sporting Odisha FC, who were at the bottom of the league going into the game and had failed to win this season. Regarding the Juggernauts, they were coming off a tie against Kickstart FC in their last game. Odisha had won five of their six games so far in the current campaign, therefore it was the first time they had let up points in this year’s IWL.
After Indumathi Kathiresan’s brilliantly placed ball was turned in by Lynda Kom in the eighth minute, Odisha FC were off to a great start. Win Theingi Tun extended Odisha FC’s advantage to two goals late into the first-half stoppage time with her fourth goal of the year. Once again, it was Indumathi Kathiresan who supplied the assist as she cleverly sent a through ball to Win Tun, who scored.
Win Tun completed her brace early in the second half, dribbling past a few opponents to slide the ball into the back of the net denying rival keeper Sadrija any opportunity. Shortly after, Manisha Naik scored the game’s only goal for Sporting Odisha, making the score 3-1 at the full-time whistle. With a game to spare, Odisha FC’s two-point lead at the top of the IWL table was maintained with this victory.
Kickstart FC back to winning ways against lackluster East Bengal FC
Kickstart FC took on East Bengal FC at the East Bengal ground in the round’s last match. With just one point from their previous six games, the hosts, East Bengal FC, were in terrible form coming into this match. This season, they have only triumphed once, and that was against Sporting Odisha, who are ranked the lowest in the league. Regarding Kickstart FC, they lost their most recent match against Gokulam Kerala FC, which turned out to be their only loss of the current IWL season.
Aruna Bag gave Kickstart FC the lead 50 seconds into the match thanks to an incredible set-piece ball by Pakpi Devi. Sonia Marak headed home a wonderful cross from Sushmita Lepcha to double Kickstart FC’s lead about thirty minutes into the match. At halftime, the hosts were down by two goals to zero.
Sanjida Akhter, an impressive new addition to East Bengal, scored her first goal for the team early in the second half with a long-range freekick to cut the lead in half. Karishma Purushottam, the IWL’s leading scorer with seven goals, gave Kickstart FC the two-goal lead back when East Bengal was pressing for an equalizer. The away team won 3-1 at the game’s end. With this victory, Kickstart FC continues their aspirations of finishing at the top of the league, as they are now only two points behind leaders Odisha FC and even on points with Gokulam Kerala FC.
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