Ludhiana, Punjab: Sethu FC turned around a first-half deficit to beat Manipur Police SC 3-1 and win their first ever Hero Indian Women’s League trophy in the process, at the Guru Nanak Stadium, here on Wednesday (May 22, 2019).

Radharani Devi had put Manipur Police in the lead towards the end of the first half, but an own goal by Umapati Devi put Sethu back in the game, before their Nepal international Sabitra Bhandari turned up the heat to score two goals and win it for the Madurai-based side.

Sethu got off with the more chances in the first half, as they kept the Manipur attackers in check and built on their swift counter-attacks to move the ball up the pitch quickly. Their left winger Sandhiya looked lively in the opening exchanges, as she bombed down the left flank to give a lot of trouble to the Manipur defence.

The India international had the first clear chance a little after 10 minutes, when she received the ball just inside the box and pulled the trigger. However, she scuffed her instep shot and it lacked any sting.

The winger had another good chance when she received the ball from a melee inside the Manipur box, but her shot rolled inches wide of the post.

Manipur’s Bala Devi was tightly marked, and she often had to drop to the midfield or to the right wing, in order to make some space for herself. Bala increasingly began to cut a rather frustrated figure, and was starting to resort to long-range efforts.

Manipur’s goal came at just the right time, with a little over a minute of regulation time left for the first half, as Radharani leaped above the rest to nod in a corner from the left.

Sethu came out with more vigour in the second half, and got the goal that they were looking for, when Dangmei Grace broke down the right and sent in a low cross as captain Indumathi Kathiresan pulled the trigger. However, it took a deflection off Manipur Police defender Umapati Devi, who was unfortunately awarded the own goal.

It took the Madurai-based side around another five minutes to take the lead for the first time this game, as their mercurial Nepalese striker Sabitra Bhandari was set through on goal. the Sethu number nine rounded off the keeper, before slotting it into the net from an angle.

Sabitra, who was relatively quiet for most of the first half, came into her own after this goal that gave her the confidence. She scored her second of the evening, when Sandhiya broke swiftly down the left and played her in through the channel between the left back and the left centre-back. The Nepal international opened up her right foot and slotted it into the bottom corner to give Sethu the two-goal cushion.

From then on, it was a matter of seeing out the Manipur attacks, a responsibility that the likes of Sethu defenders Ashalata Devi and Sweety Devi, and midfielders Sumithra, Ratanbala and Indumathi carried out perfectly.

Hero IWL 2018-19 Individual Awards

Highest Scorer: Bala Devi, Manipur Police

Best Goalkeeper: Linthoi, Gokulam Kerala FC

Emerging Player of the Tournament: Ratanbala Devi, Sethu FC

Most Valuable Player of the Tournament: Sandhiya, Sethu FC

Ludhiana, Punjab: 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.

(AIFF Media)

Ludhiana, Punjab: 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.

(AIFF Media)

Ludhiana, Punjab: 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.

Kashmina MS of FC Kolhapur City is the Player Of The Match 🤩👏🏽#HeroIWL #FCKCBFA #ShePower #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/zH6bwxrBHj

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) May 6, 2019

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.

(AIFF Media)

Ludhiana, Punjab: It was billed as a clash of two heavyweights, but in actuality, it turned out to be quite the opposite, as Gokulam Kerala FC demolished Rising Student Club 5-0 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, on Sunday, May 5, 2019.

Manisha scored a hat-trick to power Gokulam through, while her India international teammate Sanju stole the show with a Player of the match performance.

It was Gokulam all the way, and the side from Kerala got off the blocks early on and took the lead on the 12th minute itself, when Dalima played it in to Sanju, who calmly put it in the back of the net.

Just seven minutes later, Manisha powered her way into the RSC box while being constantly under challenge from a defender, and fires it past the keeper into the goal.

About another 10 minutes later, Gokulam netted a third, and it was yet another India International, Anju Tamang who scored this time. She ran on to a ball from Ranjana smashed it into the net.

A tactical switch by Gokulam coach Priya PV in the second half, sent Manisha into the overdrive mode. Manisha swapped position with Anju, with the former playing up top, and the latter playing in the hole.

This worked wonders for them, as Manisha soon showed her class. It took her some time, but on the 72nd minute, the local girl dropped her shoulders, sold a dummy, and powered a left-footer into the back of the RSC net.

Soon after, Manisha showed her presence of mind yet again, as she pounced on a rebound and slotted it past RSC keeper Rani Bhowmick. The writing was on the wall, as Gokulam cruised to the final whistle from then on.

(AIFF Media)

Ludhiana, Punjab: FC Alakhpura were the first team to earn three points in the third edition of the Hero Indian Women’s League with a 1-0 win over Hans Women FC at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Sunday, May 5, 2019.

India U-18 international Samiksha scored the only goal of the match as the team from Haryana assumed the top spot in Group I for now.

It was Hans Women FC, who got off the blocks early, in the first half, with Nigerian midfielder Uchenna Ukachukwu plotting their attacks.

However, Alakhpura soon began to grow in the match and started playing their swift passing game.

It took them a little over a quarter of an hour to open the scoring through Samiksha. The forward was played through inside the opposition area, as she rounded the Hans keeper Deepika Venkatesh and plonked the ball into the net.

That goal did give Hans some momentum, but Alakhpura’s high-pressing game did not give them much chance to get their attacks going.

Hans striker Anushka Samuel perhaps came closest to drawing the scores level in the second half, when she made her way into the box from the right and just had to put it past the keeper from a bit of an angle. But Alakhpura custodian Neelam got down and made a fine save to keep her side ahead.

Despite the incessant attacks of Alakhpura, which were orchestrated by India U-18 international Samiksha, Hans kept finding spaces on the counter. Anushka was in the thick of the action again as she twisted and turned a defender and played Jyoti Burrett into space, but the latter scuffed her shot wide.

(AIFF Media)

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.

Group Stage

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

(AIFF Media)