Football Fans Manipur

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.

NEW DELHI: It’s that time of the year again! The Hero Indian Women’s League is back and the top female players of the country and from abroad are raring to go as the tournament is set to kick-off at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab on Sunday, May 5.

Defending champions Rising Student’s Club kick-start the 2018-19 Hero IWL edition as they face-off against Gokulam Kerala FC on Sunday.

As many as 12 teams, who are divided into two groups of six each, are set to participate in the tournament. Group I consists of Rising Student’s Club, Gokulam, FC Alakhpura, Hans Women Football Club, Central SSB Women Football Club and Panjim Footballers. Meanwhile, Group II consists of Manipur Police, Sethu FC Bangalore United FC, SAI-STC Cuttack, FC Kolhapur City, and Baroda Football Academy.

“Women's football in our country is going through an exciting phase. We have seen the Indian Women's Team produce some great results at the International front,” said All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das.

 “We are sure to see the rise of more talented players in the third season of the Hero Indian Women's League. I would like to thank the Punjab Football Association for their support in hosting the IWL, and wish the participating clubs all the best for the tournament in Ludhiana,” he further said.

HERO INDIAN WOMEN’S LEAGUE GROUPS

GROUP I

Rising Student’s Club
Gokulam Kerala FC
FC Alakhpura
Hans Women’s FC
Central SSB Women’s Football Team
Panjim Footballers
GROUP II
Manipur Police SC
Sethu FC
Bangalore United FC
SAI-STC Cuttack
FC Kolhapur City
Baroda Football Academy