Indian Women's League: Odisha Police register narrow win over Mata Rukmani FC

Odisha Police eked out a narrow 1-0 win over Mata Rukmani in their second match of the Indian Women's League 2022 on Wednesday.

Odisha Police earned an early free-kick in the fifth minute as Sarojini Tirkey drew a foul in a dangerous area. However, the local club couldn't capitalise on the free-kick. Subsequently in the 17th minute, Arati Khadia found an opportunity to score as she cut in from the left flank but her attempt on goal missed the frame by whiskers.

At the other end, Mata Rukmani too had a chance to take the lead before half-time, but forward Priyanka Kashyap hit the side netting as the scoreline remained 0-0. After the restart, Sarojini Tirkey again found herself in a goal scoring position. This time, she completely missed the target.

Odisha Police looked quite composed in the second half and found some good breakthroughs. In the 72nd minute, they almost took the lead when Jharana Mallik attempted a cross from the right flank. To everyone's surprise, the ball looked certain to end up in the net, but was halted in its tracks by the crossbar. Mata Rukmani defenders were quick to react and cleared the ball as soon as it dropped to the ground.

Finally, Odisha Police's efforts paid off in the 84th minute when substitute Jasmani Samad found the target from inside the box to give her side the lead. Mata Rukmani made a double substitution in search of the equaliser but to no avail.

In another match, Kickstart maintained their winning streak as they handed Sirvodem a second consecutive defeat after a dominant 7-0 win