Sethu FC took an early lead through Renu Rani before goals from Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, Acheampong and Manish Kalyan earned the decisive three points for Gokulam.
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Gokulam Kerala beat Sethu FC 3-1 on the final matchday to retain the Indian Women’s League (IWL) in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. The Kozhikode based team finished the season unbeaten with 11 wins from as many games, recording 33 points, three more than second-placed Sethu FC. It was their second successive title triumph after clinching its first in 2020. Sethu took the lead through Renu Rani. Meanwhile Gokulam equalised in the minute through Loitongbam Ashalata Devi before Acheampong made it 2-1 and then Manish Kalyan sealed the win with Gokulam’s third goal of the night.
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— Gokulam Kerala FC (@GokulamKeralaFC) May 27, 2022
Sethu started the match brightly and took the lead inside the opening three minutes. Anju Tamang’s powerful strike deflected off a defender and onto the head of Renu Rani. The forward made no mistake in slotting home from close range. However, Gokulam equalised in the 44th minute. Ashalata Devi converted the penalty kick after Elshaddai Acheampong drew a foul inside the box. Meanwhile the Ghanian forward gave Gokulam the lead when she capitalised on a defensive error and put the ball inside the net on 33 minutes. It was her 20th goal of the season. In-form striker Manisha made it 3-1 for Gokulam in the 40th minute after a cross from the left caught the Sethu defence by surprise.
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The two sides shared the equal percentage of ball possession in the first-half but it was Gokulam Kerala who were more clinical and dominant in the attacking third. They went on to replicate their performance in the next 45 minutes. Although chances were created in the second-half, both sides failed to find the back of the net. Gokulam dominated the season in all departments, they scored the most number of goals (66) and conceded the least (4) in the entire campaign. Acheampong finished on top of the goal-scorers list while Manish clinched the second spot with 14 goals to her name.
Kickstart FC Karnataka beat Indian Arrows 1-0 to secure the third spot in the league standings. The game started with both sides struggling in the final third.. Finally, Margaret broke the deadlock and scored the only goal of the match in the 44th minute to earn three points for Kickstart. On the other hand, Sports Odisha wrapped up the Hero IWL season with a dominant 7-0 win against Mata Rukmani FC. Deepa Nayak netted four goals for Sports Odisha, while Pyari Xaxa netted a hattrick to help her side end its campaign at the fourth spot with 20 points.
