Karishma hat-trick helps Kickstart to floor East Bengal in IWL

Playing their first home game of Indian Women’s League (IWL) this season, Kickstart FC girls rolled past East Bengal 3-1 played at Bangalore Football Stadium today evening. With two back-to-back 3-goal win, Kickstart tops the IWL points table. 

It was the talented Karishma Shirvolkar again who drew the first blood in the dying moments of first-half regulation time from a misunderstanding from East Bengal defence. 

After changing ends, Kickstart ensured their cushion goal again from Karishma. She then completed her hat-trick in the 90th minute after East Bengal scored a consolation goal via Sulanjana Raul. 

Kickstart play their next game against Sports Odisha on Thursday, December 21, which also happens to be a home game.

Karnataka record second straight win

KSFA Media 

Karnataka defeated Assam 3-1 in the group league match of the 27th Senior National Women’s football championship at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Friday. In the first game of the day played in morning at the same venue, Gujarat drubbed Bihar 3-0 thanks to striker Khushbu Saroj, who earned the distinction of scoring the first hat-trick of the tournament. Khushbu also scored the lone goal for Gujarat in their first game against Karnataka. 

Karnataka now have six points from two games having defeated Gujarat earlier in their first match. They still have engagements against Manipur, Kerala, and Bihar to be gone through. But today’s win all but assures them of a top two finish and further advancement in the tournament.

After wingers Sonia Marak on the left and Sanjita Niroula on the right had caused some problems in the opponent defence, Karnataka forged ahead in the 9th minute through a set piece situation. Sonia Marak got past two but was brought down at the edge of the box on the right by Puja Saikia. Striker Maiteryi Palasumudram took the award and produced a curling left-footer that settled into the top near post in what was a wonderful effort.

Barely five minutes later, it was 2-0 as Sanjita Niroula squared the ball into the box from the right. A melee ensued inside the six-yard box and Sonia Marak was on hand to push it home from close. After wrapping up a 2-0 lead, Karnataka relaxed a little. That saw Assam force the pace and see a lot more of the ball, but their strikers lacked the speed to trouble the solid Karnataka defence where Tara and Aruna were hard to beat. Goalkeeper and captain Aishwarya too did a good job of producing timely saves despite her lack of some inches and kept Assam at bay.

Soon after the breather, Karnataka struck once again as Sanjita Niroula produced a rising right-footer from the right which brooked no answer. Thereafter, Karnataka were content to keep the ball among themselves with short passes and the occasional scoring attempt travelled wide or over.

Assam managed to pull one back three minutes before close as Kiranbala Chanu dashed in to find the net to lend some respectability to the scoreline in their first outing of the tournament. 

Maitreyi nets six as Karnataka rout Gujarat

KSFA Media 

Hosts Karnataka got off to a rollicking start as they trounced Gujarat 9-1 at the KSFA Stadium as the group stage of the 27th Senior Women's National Football Championships got underway here on Wednesday.

In the morning session, Manipur defeated Bihar 5-0. Salam Bina Roy Devi scored three goals while Lynda Kom netted twice for Manipur.

Gujarat gave Karnataka an early fright as they came close to scoring within the first six minutes. Dinsha Patel sprinted into the box but was tackled in time by stopper Aruna Bag at the expense of an abortive corner. 

But Karnataka virtually steamrolled their opponents after that let off. They indulged in a fast-paced game and ran Gujarat off their feet and scored at will to wrap up a 8-0 before half time.

Their tall striker Maitreyi Palasundaram struck five goals while Kaviya Pakkirisamy netted twice and Monalisa Marandi found the net once in the first half itself.

It was the diminutive left winger Sonia Marak who played a very decisive and unselfish role in Karnataka's goal-scoring acts. She provided passes on a platter for Maitreyi to finish off with aplomb. Once of course the Gujarat team made a blunder as wing back Priyanka Bhil rolled the ball across after getting it from goalkeeper Tanvi Mavani but Maitreyi got to it and filled an empty net. But for some daring saves by Tanvi, Gujarat might have conceded more goals.

Karnataka's dominance continued in the second half as the Gujarat defence found the attack too sharp and hot to handle. But Karnataka took things easy and did not force the pace. They managed to score one more when Maiteryi netted another in injury time of the second half. Gujarat, earlier, pulled one back when Khushbu Saroj found the target with a neat finish. But they could do little more.

 

Karnataka team for 27th Senior Women’s Nationals

A 24-member Karnataka team, coached by former international and state captain Amoolya Kamal will be seen in action in the 27th Hero Senior Women’s National Football Championship. Karnataka is placed in Group VI and the Bangalore will be hosting the qualifying round starting from March 29. 

Team
Aishwarya A, A Dhanushree, Angel Maria TS, Manasa M, Janani D, Simran Bhargava, Aruna Bag, Jayashree E, Rupali Bauri, Tara Anand, V G Lekhashri, Arushi Santosh, Maithreyi Palasamudram, Tanvie Nair, Tanvie Hans, Rivka Ramji, Sanjita Niroula, Monalisha Marandi, Kaviya Pakkiriswamy, Ruthu Sreenandan, Sonia Marak, Aditi Jadhav

Coach - Amoolya Kamal
Raksha Panwar
Manager - Sarala N Swamy

Kickstart begin title defence with 5-0 win against Maatru Pratishtana

Winner of the last three edition of KWL Super Division, Kickstart FC started their campaign this season with a bang defeating Maatru Pratishtana FC 5-0 at Bangalore Football Stadium today evening. Matru Pratishtana girls were down by two goals in the first half, after lemon break, Kickstart girls pumped thee more. 

In a keenly contested first game of the day, Super Division new comer Modern Girls FC beat another new comer Pink Panthers FC 5-3. The latter team took lead in 8th minute, however, Modern Girls dominated proceedings there on, they rallied back to equalize, and scored two more. Pink Panthers reduced one to make the score 3-2 for Modern in half-time. Modern Girls conceded after changing ends, but Mira Devi’s brace, sealed the fate on Pink Panthers. 

KWL will resume on Thursday, Aug 25 with the following matches: 
 - 12:00 PM: Rebels Women’s FC Vs Parikrma FC 
 - 2:00 PM: Maatru Pratishtana FC Vs Pink Panthers FC 
 - 4:00 PM: Kickstart FC Vs Roots FC 

Kemp FC start KWL campaign with a big win, Misaka too off to a perfect start

Kemp FC, coached by former Modern Girls FC, Sudhakar made a rousing start scoring a dozen over Rebels Women’s FC on Day 1 of KWL Super Division played at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

Kemp girls scored the first goal in the 3rd minute of the game and kept scoring at regular intervals. They were leading by seven goals in the first half. Rebels girls reduced margin in the later end of second half. 

In the second game of the day, which was often interrupted by downpour, Misaka United beat newcomers Roots FC 5-0. Misaka girls were leading a goal in the first half and scored four more after changing ends. 

In day two of KWL 22-23 Super Division, Pink Panthers will play against Modern Girls FC, both teams qualified from A to Super Division last season and -while Kickstart FC will begin defending their KWL title against Matru Pratishtana FC.

 

KWL Super Division 5th edition kicks-off tomorrow

Karnataka State Football Association will kick-off its fifth edition of the Karnataka Women's League (KWL) Super Division 2022-23 season tomorrow, August 21. Three-time champs, Kickstart FC Karnataka will be looking to clinch the title for the 4th time in a row. 

Kickstart FC Karnataka, Misaka United FC, Kemp FC, Maatrupratishtana FC, Parikrma FC, Rebels Women's FC, Modern Girls FC, Pink Panthers FC, and Roots FC are the nine teams participating in this edition.

The best player for every match will receive a Rs 2000 voucher from Plaeto and Rs 1000 voucher from Barley & Grapes Cafe.

The league will be played in a single-leg round-robin format hence giving each team a minimum of 8 games. The tournament is scheduled to go on till October 10.

This season, all teams will be donning the #NoFoulPlay logo on the right hand sleeve of their jersey in support of indiscrimination, anti-sexism, and equality. The #NoFoulPlay campaign was launched recently under the aegis of KSFA.

In Sunday's opening matches Kemp FC will face Rebels Women's FC at 2:00 pm while Roots FC will face Misaka United FC at 4.00 pm.

 

Legends De Sporting Bengaluru win KSFA Women's B Division League

The KSFA Women's B Division League came to an end yesterday with Legends De Sporting Bengaluru taking away the silverware and Young Stars FC ending as runner up. In the final game of the league, Legends girls beat Young Stars FC 1-0 with Sandya scoring in the 17^th minute of the game. 

Both finalists, Legends de Sporting Bengaluru and Young Stars FC both are promoted to 'A' Division for the 2022-23 season.

KSFA introduced B Division in women’s league for the first time by where 9 teams took part. The teams were divided in 2 groups with a knock-out format with the top 2 from each group.

Individual Award

• Best Goalkeeper - Angel Maria (Young Stars FC)
• Best Defender - Sara Mukundan (Young Stars FC)
• Highest Scorer - Abhirami Vadivel (18 Goals, Legends De Sporting) 

Kickstart score a perfect 10 against Mata Rukmani in IWL

AIFF Media

Kickstart FC bounced back to winning ways with a splendid 10-0 victory over Mata Rukmani in the Hero Indian Women’s League 2022.

Yangoijam Kiranbala Chanu opened the scoring for the Karnataka-based club in the 11th minute. The forward turned the ball in from the left hand side of the goal to make it 1-0. From then onwards, Kickstart never looked back.

In fact, they added five more goals in the span of the next half hour. Kiranbala Chanu added her second only two minutes after her first strike with a perfectly-placed header from the left side off a Yumlembam Pakpi Devi cross.

Another couple of minutes passed and Kickstart made it 3-0 via an Asem Roja Devi stunner. The forward took her chance from long range and struck well to beat the goalkeeper from outside the box. Roja Devi went on to score her second in the 37th minute. The in-form attacker tapped in a perfectly delivered cross from the left flank by Kaviya Pakkirisamy.

With the game completely in their hands, Kickstart showed the hunger to score more. In the 42nd minute, Babysana produced a moment of brilliance with a long range screamer to make it 5-0. Before half time, Kiranbala Chanu completed her hat-trick with a strike from close range to beat the Mata Rukmani goalkeeper.

Despite confirming the three points with a dominant first half display, Kickstart went on to add more to their goal tally on the day. Thingbaijam Babysana Devi, scored her brace in the 49th minute, after a massive effort from Kiranbala Devi in the attacking third. 

In the 83rd minute, Pakpi Devi showed pure pace and quality on the ball. The forward beat the Mata Rukmani goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation and slid the ball into the bottom right corner. Minutes later, Kiranbala Devi completed her quadruple in the 87th minute with an easy tap-in off a Pakpi Devi assist. Before the referee blew the full-time whistle, substitute Laishram Bibicha Devi scored Kickstart’s 10th goal and marked a solid end to the game.

Gokulam Kerala FC face stern test against Kickstart

 AIFF Media 

It’s time for a cracker of a clash between Kickstart FC and Gokulam Kerala FC in the Hero Indian Women’s League 2022. The two in-form sides face each other at the Capital Ground in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, May 14, 2022.

Ahead of the game, Kickstart FC Head Coach Amrutha spoke about her side’s preparations and the approach they will take. “Next match is against Gokulam kerala FC, the defending champions who are an experienced side,” she began.

“We need to focus more for better results. We also need these three points to continue our winning momentum. Accordingly, we are ready to perform against them,” she added, before confirming that she has a fully fit squad at her disposal.

Gokulam Kerala are on a seven-match winning streak and will be going up in a tough challenge against Kickstart. Head Coach Anthony Andrews passed his remarks on the opposition and how his side has prepared for the game. “Kickstart has a good team with experienced players. They have quality in the attacking unit with pace and creativity. We have to be focused throughout the 90 minutes and pick our chances early.”

“Our approach and intent will be to progress from our last game and minimize our mistakes and make better decisions in the final third,” he added in the end.

The match will be streamed live on Indian Football YouTube Channel at 3:30 PM (IST).

Kickstart earns dominating win against Hans Women FC

AIFF Media

Kickstart maintained their winning run after beating Hans Women FC 0-4 tonight in the Hero Indian Women's League at the Kalinga Stadium. Hans suffered another loss as they are yet to find winning ways in the competition this season.

Kickstart made a quick start to the game as they bagged the lead as soon as the 7th minute in the game when Roja got herself one on one with the Hans custodian and did no mistake to slot it home.

Thereafter the Karnataka-based side took the momentum of the game but failed to increase their lead as they were unable to capitalize on the chances created. 

Before the lemon break, Kickstart got their best chance to double the lead when they were awarded a spot-kick but the former failed to turn into fruit. 

After the breather Kickstart seemed to be with a better composure as they doubled the lead within the 48th minute. Babysana struck a screamer from yards away to make it 0-2 for her side.

Just at the edge of the hour mark Kiranbala Chanu made it 0-3 for Kickstart as she rightly utilized a howler from Hans custodian Tanvi Mavani. Minutes after the lead increased to 0-4 as substitute Lawmching found the net from distance in the 60th minute.

The high press from Kickstart rattled the porous Hans defense forcing too many mistakes inside the box. Hans made a change in their custodian side and this turned out to be a saviour for the losing side as they refrained from conceding more.

After this loss, Hans continues to remain at the bottom of the points table as Kickstart maintains the third spot with 6 wins in 7 games.

Prameshwori score in Kickstart's win against SSB

 AIFF Media 

Kickstart created wave after wave of attacks but were yet to break the deadlock till the half an hour mark. The SSB side showed a great defensive character doing well to keep their opponents at bay.

Finally, in the 34th minute, Kickstart broke the deadlock. Babysana Devi sent in a cross that was equally contested by both Prameshwori and SSB goalkeeper Manju. While both slid in towards the ball, Prameshowri managed to get to it a fraction of a second earlier and slipped it under the SSB keeper, to put her side in the lead.

After the breather, Sandhya Kashyap came up with some good chances for SSB but failed to find the net.

The side from West Bengal looked determined and mounted a number of attacks in the second half, in their search for an equaliser. However, some brilliant goalkeeping from Linthoingambi Devi, and some last ditch tackles from Hero of the Match Sweety Devi kept SSB out.

After this second consecutive loss, SSB remain 6th on the Hero IWL table, whereas Kickstart maintain their position on third with 15 points from 6 matches.

Kickstart FC face SSB this evening, look to maintain winning momentum

AIFF Media  

Kickstart FC will look to maintain their winning momentum when they face SSB on Friday, May 6, 2022, at the Kalinga Stadium in the Hero Indian Women’s League.

Ahead of the clash, Kickstart head coach Amrutha Aravind sounded pumped as she said, “It is a vital match for us, and we have to continue our rhythm of winning.”

The gaffer has high regards for her opponents. She said, “SSB is one of the best women's teams in India, and they are a very good and balanced side. So, we have to put some extra effort to win against them.”

Amrutha believes her side is yet to improve, “We were lacking in some areas in our last match, especially when it came to finishing, we were not at the level where we want to be. We are focusing much more on that in the preparatory sessions.”

“I am fully confident in the qualities of my team and my girls will be doing better in the next match,” she added.

SSB suffered a narrow loss in their last match against Arrows and gaffer Juliet Miranda is determined to bounce back. She said, “Our next opponents are very tough, as they have all good experienced players. Will try to give them a good fight and come out with a positive mind-set.”

Juliet opined, “The last game's result was unacceptable for us. We have to improve a lot as a team. Especially we have to refrain from making silly errors.” SSB will face Kickstart FC on Friday May 6, 2022 at the Kalinga Stadium at 19:30pm (IST). The match will be telecast live on Eurosport and streamed on the Indian Football YouTube channel.

Kickstart, Sethu aim to maintain unbeaten record

AIFF Media  

Sethu FC and Kickstart FC head into a mouthwatering clash in the Hero Indian Women’s League 2022 on Thursday, April 28 with both sides yet to taste defeat in three games so far and will be looking forward to maintaining the record.

Sethu Head Coach Crispin Chettri was confident, yet wary of the threat posed by their counterparts from Karnataka. He said, “It is one of the more important matches for us. They are a good side. We have to do better in decision making and convert our chances and be organised at the back.”

“We are happy with how we have started the Hero IWL campaign, and want to keep the momentum going forward,” he added.

On the other hand, Kickstart are also in decent form and have won each of their first three Hero IWL 2021-22 games. Speaking about the game against Sethu FC, Head Coach Amrutha Aravind stated, “We are playing against Sethu FC’s experienced team, who have won the league. We have to give our 100 percent and we have prepared well to do the same. I am fully confident in the abilities of my team.”

She went on to add, “The last match has boosted the morale of the team. We would like to keep up the momentum and stay on top with a win.”

The match will be played at the Capital Ground in Bhubaneswar and will be telecast live on Eurosport and streamed live on the Indian Football YouTube Channel at 3.30 PM (IST).