The two big favorites, Odisha FC and Gokulam Kerala FC, the champions and runners-up of the last edition, respectively, played an entertaining 1-1 draw to open their IWL 2024-25 season at the EMS Corporation Stadium.
Both goals came in the second half. While Odisha FC took the lead in the 61st minute through Lynda Kom Serto, Gokulam Kerala FC found the equaliser when Hemam Shilky Devi banged the target in the 87th minute.
The high-stakes game started off with Odisha dominating a lot of the possession and being the ones who created more in front of goal, the best of those chances resulting in a deflected shot that was saved by Gokulam’s goalkeeper Payal Basude.
Gokulam for their part was hugely reliant on their three foreign players for most of their gameplay, and of the three, Phoebe Owiti was the most prolific, often driving out of defence to interlink and create opportunities in the opposition third.
It was her brilliant interplay with Ratanbala Devi, in the second half that eventually resulted in Gokulam’s first clear chance at goal. After a delicate one-two, Ratanbala’s cutback was cut off by Odisha’s defence to a corner. From the half-cleared corner came a cross from the left, which Owiti headed wide.
Odisha scored the opener just as it seemed that Gokulam had gained the upper hand in the game via the newly minted Blue Tigress Lynda Kom. The midfielder picked up a fairly innocuous pass, outside the box, turned and twisted away from her defender, before curling a brilliant left-footed effort into the top corner in the 61st minute. A diving Basude had no chance.
After the goal which came against the run of the play, Gokulam’s attacking fervour became more desperate as the clock ticked away. A lack of composure seemed to be their bane, with Asem Roja Devi and Owiti guilty of shooting over when hitting the target might have been the easier option. Both were played through on goal by chipped passes from Catherine Aringo, with only goalkeeper Shreya Hooda to beat.
They did get their equaliser eventually, late even to draw level. In the 87th minute, Odisha failed to clear a corner cleanly and the ball dropped to Shilky Devi in the six-yard area. The defender had her back to goal but wrestled for control before eventually pouncing on the loose ball to smash it into the net.
The hosts even found time to create one final chance to wrap the points deep in injury time, with Faila Ikwaput played into the box on the left, and allowed to drive through on goal. Her weak shot was gathered gratefully by Hooda.
Everyone played really well. We created several opportunities but managed to convert only one goal. I am happy with the team’s overall performance, even though the result wasn’t what I expected, said Ranjan Chowdhury, Gokulam Kerala FC Head Coach.
The fans of Gokulam Kerala were not impressed with some aspects of the game.
According to Nadeem, a member of Battalia, GKFC dominated and created a lot of chances but lost two points due to poor finishing. He also added that the bench strength is not good enough and the think tank did not make any substitutions to change the match.
Hemam Shilky Devi and Muskan were the standout performers for us today, however, we need pacy wingers and a dead ball specialist, said Majinas, a Gokulam Kerala fan.
