Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Riding on striker Manisha’s hattrick Gokulam Kerala FC demolished Rising Student Club 5-0 while FC Alakhpura piped Hans Women FC 1-0 in the third edition of the Hero Indian Women’s League at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Sunday,
Besides Manisha her 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.
Earlier India U-18 international Samiksha scored the all important goal in the 17th minute as FC Alakhpura (Haryana) defended the lead till the end.
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.