Football Fans Manipur

LUDHIANA: Gokulam Kerala posted their third win in as many games, as they demolished SSB Women Football Club by a massive margin of 5-0 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Thursday.

Anju Tamang was the star of the show, as she scored a brace, and played a crucial role in the Kerala side’s build-up plays, helping them to spread the ball to the wings, essentially stretching the game in order to cause problems for the SSB defence.

Gokulam started the game off swiftly, as they broke the deadlock straight from the kick-off. An intricate move was finished off by India international Anju Tamang. The entire move took Gokulam just 14 seconds, which makes this the fastest goal scored in the 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Women’s League.

SSB, however, were not ready to give up, and kept surging forward in search of the equaliser. Sangita Basfore, who generally plays midfield for the Indian Women’s Team, was the focal point of their attacks up front.

The game ebbed and flowed both ways, but it was Gokulam, who put the doubts to bed, when Anita Rawat scored minutes before the half time break. Sanju soared up the left flank and sent in a low cross that was tapped in by Rawat.

Gokulam started off in almost exactly the same fashion in the second half as well, when they got the ball from SSB, registered a shot on target from Ranjana Chanu, and watched in delight as the opposition keeper Manju fumbled the ball over the goal-line.

As it that was not enough, Bawitlung Vanlalhriattiri made it four with a little over a quarter of an hour of regulation time left on the clock. The second half substitute was played through on goal, as she rounded off the keeper, sold a dummie and walked the ball into an unguarded goal.

By virtue of this win, Gokulam have now taken a massive lead at the top of the Group II table with nine points. They are followed by FC Alakhpura, SSB, Hans Women FC and Panjim Footballers, all of whom have just three points on the board so far.

Tamang added another goal in the second-last minute of regulation time to make it another 5-goal victory for the Kerala side.

LUDHIANA: Panjim Footballers posted their first win of the 2018-19 Hero Indian Women’s League season, as they pipped FC Alakhpura 2-1 in a tight affair at the Guru Nanak Stadium, in Ludhiana, on Thursday.

Karishma Shirvoikar broke the Alakhpura defence twice to help PAnjim earn the three points, but it was the tactical defence of Scindia Saudatikar that stole the show and earned the defender the Player of the Match Award.

It was a tight affair between two sides that seems to have had each other sized-up pretty well. However, it was Panjim, who broke the deadlock early on in the game.

Karishma Shirvoikar beat the Alakhpura offside trap, ran on to an aerial ball that was played in behind the defence, and slipped it past the Alakhpura keeper Neelam to put Panjim in the lead.

Having taken the lead, Panjim were happy to sit back and let Alakhpura have the ball, while they concentrated on keeping their defensive shape intact.

Keeping their backline strong was a strategy that worked wonders for Panjim, who had conceded three in their previous match against Hans Women FC.

It took them a little over 10 minutes after the start of the second half to double the score. Again, it was an aerial ball played in behind the defence, as Karishma ran on to the ball and lobbed it over the keeper.

Alakhpura kept knocking on the door and Panjim finally budged from a set-piece, as the Haryana side's India U-18 International Samiksha expertly nodded it in.

NEW DELHI: The Indian U-16 National Team has been drawn in Group B of the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers 2020 alongside hosts Uzbekistan, Bahrain and Turkmenistan for the qualifiers that are slated to kick-off from September 18-22, 2019.

The Indian U-16 National Team had grabbed eye balls in the AFC U-16 Championship 2018 and were one match away from securing qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019, under Head Coach Bibiano Fernandes, but lost by a narrow margin of 1-0 against Korea Republic in the Quarter-finals.

The Indian U-16s had won 0-1 against Vietnam and played two goalless draws against Islamic Republic of Iran and Indonesia respectively in the group stage to set up the clash with Korea Republic.

Meanwhile, the top spot in the respective groups will earn direct qualification, while the four best second-placed teams will also advance to the 2020 Finals from th
e AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers. Should the hosts for the Finals finish either top of their group or among the best four second-placed teams, the next (5th) second-placed team in the ranking among all groups will qualify instead.

GROUP B: India, Uzbekistan (H), Bahrain, Turkmenistan.

NEW DELHI: The Indian U-19 National Team has been drawn in Group F of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers 2020 alongside hosts Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in the qualifiers that are slated from November 2-10, 2019.

Head Coach of the Indian U-19 National Team Floyd Pinto said, “It is a tough draw for us and we are aware of the strengths our opponents possess. But at the same time the boys have shown that they can fight against some of the best teams (in the Hero I-League) and we are hopeful of our qualification chances”

“We would have to be on the top of our game if we are to qualify from this group”, he added.

In 2017, the Indian U-19s were also drawn with Saudi Arabia as hosts. But despite a 3-0 win over Turkmenistan and a 0-0 draw against Yemen, a 5-0 loss to Saudi Arabia could not help their chance of progression from the qualifiers, with only one team making it through to the Championship.

GROUP F: Saudi Arabia (H), Uzbekistan, India, Afghanistan

LUDHIANA: Manipur Police rode the success of their star striker Bala Devi to demolish a young SAI-STC Cuttack by a humongous margin of 10-0 at the Guru Nanak Stadium, here, on Wednesday.

The mercurial striker scored seven goals in the match – four in the first half and three in the second.

It was a show of strength by Manipur Police, who were eager to bounce back after their defeat against Sethu FC.

Bala Devi was on target from the start, and she took only 10 minutes to get on the score-sheet. After getting the ball outside the SAI penalty box, she switched to her right foot, and drove the ball home.

It took Bala just 5 minutes to add the second goal of the match, before she completed her hat-trick on the 41st minute. The Manipuri striker added a fourth just before the half-time break, to make it 5-0.

The second half went much in the same way as the first, as Manipur Police dominated possession and continued their intent to score goals. Bala went on to add three more goals to her name in the second half, while the likes of Rinaroy Devi and Daya Devi added two more to make the score 10-0 in Manipur Police’s favour.

With this, Bala Devi has scored an unprecedented seven goals in the match, something that puts her well in the driver’s seat for the highest scorers’ award, in the nascent stages of the 2018-19 Hero Indian Women’s League.

LUDHIANA: Gokulam Kerala FC were triumphant once again, as they beat a resilient FC Alakhpura side 1-0 via a goal from their teenage sensation Manisha, at the Guru Nanak Stadium, here, on Monday, May 7.

Gokulam, who had shown their strength by beating defending champions Rising Student Club 5-0 in their last game on Sunday, started off at good pace. However, Alakhpura came out with a concrete plan to thwart the side from Kerala and pounce on the counter attacks.


Their plan worked perfectly, as they kept Gokulam at bay for long periods. It was only second half that Gokulam got a real chance. Manisha broke through on goal, and Alakhpura keeper Neelam to beat in front of her. However, she tried to dink the keeper on the half volley, and the ball sailed over the bar.


Manisha finally made her mark in the game, when she nodded a powerful header into the Alakhpura net 71st minute off a cross from the right flank. This being her fourth goal of the tournament, propelled her back to the top of the scorers’ charts, where she is tied with Sethu FC’s Nepali striker Sabitra Bhandari.

 Alakhpura had their best chance towards the end of the game, when Jyoti beat the offside trap, broke free from the Gokulam defence and only had keeper Linthoi to beat. However, the India International swiftly slid in and blocked the shot from close range.

HANS WOMEN FC RALLY TO BEAT PANJIM FOOTBALLERS

Over at the GHG Khalsa University Ground in Ludhiana, Hans Women FC fought hard in an exciting 3-2 win over Panjim Footballers, courtesy a brace from striker Anushka Samuel. Hans had got off to a good start with Uchenna Rita Casia Ukachukwu’s early effort going wide of the post.

Anushka put the Delhi side in front right after the half-hour mark, but Panjim forward Karishma Shirvoikar soon equalised as she finished off a brilliant pass from Jeromina Colaco. Anushka scored yet another goal in the second half, but that too was equalised via a penalty by Karishma.

In the end, it was Jyoti Ann Burrett, who scored the winning goal in the 80th minute, to hand Hans Women FC the three points.

LUDHIANA: FC Kolhapur City came back from two goals down to beat Baroda Football Academy in an absolute thriller of a Western Derby that ended with the former winning 4-3 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Monday, May 6, 2019.

Kolhapur forward Kashmina was the star of the show, as she scored two goals on either side of the half-time break. These goals were crucial as they came at a time when Kolhapur were 0-2 down against Baroda.

It was Kolhapur, who started off with a higher tempo, but Baroda got the break against the run of play.

Baroda, who relied more on the counter, hooved it up field, and the inability of the Kolhapur defence to deal with the aerial ball led to the first goal. The ball bounced inside the Kolhapur area, and defender Ayomide Awawu Anibaba looped her header over the keeper and into the net for an own goal.

What looked like a setback, soon turned into a nightmare for Kolhapur, as Baroda left winger Mona soared into the Kolhapur box, cut inside and fired it home.

However, Kashima gave Kolhapur some home just before the half-time whistle, as she took full advantage of a fumble by Baroda keeper Pinky Darji, to score into an empty net.

Kolhapur came out all guns blazing in the second half, and it was Kashima again, who scored to put the side from Maharashtra on level terms. She was played into the box, as she made an angled run from the right and slipped it past the Darji to score.

The match came to a frantic end, as Kolhapur and Baroda substitutes, Pratiksha and Heta Shukla scored for their respective sides in the space of two minutes, before Kamala Devi finally made it 4-3 for the Maharashtra side on the third minute of injury time.

LUDHIANA: Sethu FC outclassed Manipur Police in a thrilling encounter that saw two hat-tricks and 10 goals. The team from Madurai eventually fashioned a massive 6-4 victory over their Manipuri opponents at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, on Monday, May 6, 2019.

Sabitra Bhandari was the star of the show as she netted four first-half goals to power Sethu FC to the win. Her counterpart Bala Devi was also on song, scoring two goals, but her efforts went in vain.

Sabitra, who has been a menace for Nepal on the international front, continued her exploits for Sethu right from the kick-off, as she finished off a move on the 29th second. This was the fastest goal of the Hero Indian Women’s League this season.

 The Nepal striker struck again a quarter of an hour later, before an own goal by Sethu keeper Sowmiya pulled one back for Manipur Police. However, Bhandari earned her hat-trick on the 34th minute itself, Grace fed her a ball from the right and she slipped it past the Manipur keeper Panthoi Chanu.

Bala Devi shipped one over Sethu keeper Sowmiya’s head to make it 2-3, but Sabitra scored her fourth with just seconds left on for the half-time whistle.

After the change of ends, Pramodini Chanu and Dangmei Grace scored in quick succession post the hour mark, to bring the score 5-3 in Sethu’s favour. Bhandari broke away with a quarter of an hour left, and unselfishly squared it to Grace, who tapped it into an empty to put the match beyond any doubts.

Bala Devi did score her second goal of the match in injury time of the second half, but it was too little, too late for Manipur Police.