Kickstart brush aside former champions Sethu, Madurai to cruise into the IWL final

 Kickstart FC Media 

Kickstart FC secured their place in the final of the Indian Women's League after a convincing victory over former champions Sethu, Madurai in the Indian Women’s League being held at Ahmedabad. Kickstart FC dominated the first half of the match and pinned Sethu to their half for most periods and scored the two goals that mattered in the first half itself.

Before the match, Coach Langam Chaoba Devi made two changes to the line up that faced HOPS FC in the quarterfinal, bringing in Kioko Elizabeth and Oinam Babita Devi for Renuka and Sonia Marak respectively.

The match started with Kickstart FC controlling the game for most parts. Their dominance paved the way for some early chances as Dalima’s free kick in the third minute missed the goal by a whisker and Sethu, Madurai was being overrun by an enthusiastic Kickstart FC side. In the 11th minute, Banti Sharma's lobbed ball found Kioko Elizabeth, who skilfully bypassed a defender and slotted the ball between the legs of the onrushing Sethu, Madurai goalkeeper, giving Kickstart FC the lead.

The first goal provided the much-needed confidence for Kickstart FC against the former champions and then they put on a dominant show. Meanwhile, Sethu Madurai was trying hard to get into the match by scoring the equalizer. Chances fell to Kajol D’souza and Priyanka Devi as their shots hit the woodwork twice. At the other end, Nepali international Saru Limbu who has been in sublime form all through this campaign latched on to the ball and fired an incredible shot that found the back of the net, doubling Kickstart FC's lead.

The second half saw Sethu, Madurai trying to reduce the deficit, but Kickstart FC's defense held firm and thwarted their attacking threats. As the match progressed, both teams felt the effects of the demanding climate, resulting in a slower pace. Sethu, Madurai piled on the pressure in search of goals but was unsuccessful. Kickstart FC's defense, led by Captain Dalima Chhibber and Wangkhem Linthoingambi Devi, delivered an outstanding performance.

In the final, Kickstart FC will face the winners of the match between Eastern Sporting Union and Gokulam Kerala FC.

Defender Wangkhem Linthoingambi Devi of Kickstart FC was awarded the Hero of the Match title for her outstanding performance.

Sabitra Bhandari double inspires Gokulam Kerala to Hero IWL final

AIFF Media 

Gokulam Kerala FC reached the Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) final with a stunning 3-0 win in the second semi-final, dethroning defending champions Sethu FC at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Monday (February 10, 2020). 

Manisha Kalyan broke the deadlock with a brilliant free-kick before Sabitra Bhandari added the second a minute before half-time. The Nepal international rubberstamped Gokulam’s place in the final by adding a third goal late in the second half.  

Gokulam Kerala are now set to play their maiden IWL final, where they will be taking on Manipur’s KRYPHSA FC. 

The Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) final between KRYPHSA FC (Manipur) and Gokulam Kerala (Kerala) will take place on Friday (14 February, 2020) at the Bangalore Football Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 2:00 PM IST.

Kenkre enter Hero IWL semifinal with win over BUFC, Sandhiya's four-goal haul takes Sethu too to semis

AIFF Media

Kenkre FC booked their place in the semi-finals of the 4th Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) after registering a 2-1 win over local outfit BUFC in their final Group B fixture at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Thursday (February 06, 2020).

Kenkre’s Asha Kumari opened the scoring before Techi Akung doubled their advantage. Amulya Kamal pulled one back for Bangalore, but that served as nothing more than a consolation. 

Earlier today, defending champions Sethu FC too confirmed their place in the semifinals in style after registering a dominant 6-0 victory over Baroda Football Academy.

Sethu’s Sandhiya had a clinical afternoon in front of goal, bagging four, with Amsavalli and Karthika adding the remaining two.

Sandhiya stars in crucial win for Sethu against Kickstart, KRYPHSA continue winning run with four-goal victory over BBK DAV

AIFF Media

Kryphsa continued their winning form in the ongoing Hero Indian Women's League 2019-20 with another routine 4-0 victory over Punjab-based BBK DAV at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Sunday (February 2, 2020).

Anju Tamang's grounder in the 18th minute opened the scoreline for the Manipuri girls, much to the dismay of the BBK DAV goalkeeper Radhika Khodre who went down well to stop the ball but was unable to do so. Both sides entered the changing room with Kryphsa enjoying a one-goal lead at half-time. After the breather, they came out with more purpose and scored three goals to assert their authority in the tournament once again. 

Earlier today, defending champions Sethu FC continued their winning spree with a comfortable 3-0 victory over local outfit Kickstart FC. Sandhiya (12', 90'), who is in a fine scoring run in this tournament, added another brace to her name besides Sumithra (39') who scored a screamer from 30 yards out.

Kickstart FC register slender victory over Kolhapur City, Sethu FC score nine against BBK DAV

AIFF Media

Kickstart FC registered a narrow 1-0 victory over Kolhapur City in their Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) Group A fixture on Thursday. Kavya P. scored the solitary goal of the match, in what was a moment of mesmerizing brilliance. 

The first half remained goal-less as both teams created chances, with Kickstart enjoying greater opportunities to score. However, some fine goalkeeping from Kolhapur keeper Shreya Hooda ensured the score line remained level.  

Earlier, Sethu FC registered a gargantuan 9-0 victory over BBK DAV to get their campaign back on track. 

The defending champions were stunned by Krypsha FC in their previous outing, but the Madurai outfit displayed great character to emerge from the shackles of defeat.

The match was one-way traffic through and through, with two quickfire goals from Sandhiya and K. Sumithra, both strikes being a carbon copy of one another, gave Sethu a two-goal cushion inside 18 minutes. 

It was Sandhiya again who pounced upon a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and rounded the keeper to make it 3-0 in the last minute of the half as Sethu went into the breather with a convincing 3-0 lead. 

Karthika’s left-footed drive into the bottom corner made it 4-0 in the 50th minute, which came before Sumithra’s dazzling solo effort, in which she went past five BBK defenders to make it five at the hour mark. 

Sandhiya completed her hat-trick in the 81st minute, yet again pouncing on a loose ball and displaying nerves of steel -- rounding the keeper yet again to make it 6-0. 

The floodgates continued to crumble as Karthika made it 7-0 with an audacious chip from outside the box. Just a minute later, substitute Kunti Kumari made it 8-0 after she was fed on goal by Sandhiya. 

A jump in time added the ninth as Karthika joined the hat-trick club by scoring her third from an 89th minute corner. The match ended soon after as Sethu FC registered a monumental 9-0 victory.

Gokulam run riot against Kenkre FC, KRYPHSA stun defending champions Sethu FC

AIFF Media 

Gokulam Kerala FC ran rout in their Hero Indian Women’s League fixture against Kenkre FC, registering a gargantuan 10-1 victory at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday, January 28. 

Gokulam’s Nepali striker Sabitra Bhandari was the star of the show, as she scored five goals. Karishma Shirvoikar notched-up a hat-trick for herself, while Manisha netted two more to make it 10 for the Kerala side. 

KRYPHSA FC registered a stunning 2-0 victory over defending champions Sethu FC. Ratanbala Devi scored in either half to wrap up the three points, leaving the champions contemplating and wounded.

Defending champions Sethu FC, dominant KRYPHSA FC kick-off Hero IWL 2019-20 opener with emphatic win

AIFF Media 

In the opening match of the 4th Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) today at the Bangalore Football Stadium, Kangchup Road Young Physical & Sports Association (KRYPSHA) FC cruised to a 4-0 victory against Kickstart FC Karnataka. 

Dangmei Grace scored a brace, with Anju Tamang and Ratanbali Devi also opening their IWL accounts, en route to a thoroughly dominant victory. 

In the other match of the day, defending champions Sethu FC made a flying start to their IWL campaign by a resounding score-line of 5-0 against Kolhapur City FC. 

Amsavalli opened the scoring in the 18th minute before Sandhiya notched up a second half hat-trick, with K. Sumithra also opening her account to round off a thoroughly dominating victory.