IWL 2020: Gokulam continue winning streak; Bangalore-Sreebhumi draw

Gokulam Kerala continued their winning run in the Indian Women's League (IWL) against Odisha Police in a lop sided fixture on Saturday. The team from south sent seven goals sailing into Odisha Police's net with striker Sabitra Bhandari alone netting five. Agbo Esperence, the side's Costa Rica recruit and Grace Lalhauhnar were the other goal scorers.

Also Read: Odisha Police and Sreebhumi FC register wins

The first half saw Gokulam take an early lead, but Odisha did well to give the rivals a tough competition before the break. However, post the 45-minute mark, the Odisha defence were in tatters as Sabitra started the half with two darting goals within a minute.

The Odisha side paid the price for not seizing the chances in the first half. The loss jeopardizes Odisha's chances of making into the semis. After losing to Kenkre FC in their IWL opener, Odisha roared back by beating Bangalore United in their second game. However, this defeat against Gokulam has pegged them back further as they linger at the 5th spot in Group B with three points from three games and a poor goal difference of -9 .

Gokulam, on the other hand, are on top of the group with nine points, including a massive goal difference of +17. They had gotten the better of Kenkre 10-1 and registered an important win against Sreebhumi as well.

In the second game of the the day, Bangalore United and Sreebhumi played out an entertaining draw, also the season's first. Both teams had plenty of chances to convert, but squandered opportunities to take the lead. Tanvi Hans and Satyabati Hadia from Bangalore along with Ritu Devi of Sreebhumi posed a constant threat as they looked to score, only to be fended off by the two goalies, Vinaya Seshan and Rumpa Malik of Bangalore and Sreebhumi respectively.

The game sprung to life in the last ten minutes as both teams had a number of chances. In the 83rd minute, a number of errors from Sreebhumi allowed Bangalore's Paromita Sit to miss a sitter in a one-on-one situation. She had a second go at a goal, but her effort was cleared off the line, which meant that the game ended 0-0.