Goalkeeper Beatrice Ntiwaa Nketia emerged as the hero for a 10-woman Gokulam Kerala FC as her stupendous show in the tiebreaker helped them beat Odisha FC 4-1 and seal their spot in the semifinals of of the Indian Women’s League at the TransStadia, Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
The game was locked at 1-1 at the end of regulation and extra time. While Bala Devi scored for Odisha, Asem Roja Devi restored parity for Gokulam.
Gokulam converted all three penalty shots while Beatrice pulled off three stunning saves to deny Odisha a goal in shootout.
The match got off to a frenetic start. An unmarked Bala Devi put her team in the second minute as the Odisha skipper headed the ball into the net from an Anju Tamang corner.
With seconds left for the half-time whistle, Roja Devi (45+4) equalised for Gokulam. Tournament top scorer Sabitra Bhandari gained possession in a dangerous position and laid it in for an incoming Indumathi Kathiresan. The midfielder passed it onto Dangmei Grace whose attempt on goal was blocked. However, Indumathi once again closed in on the loose ball and the resultant ball was picked up by Roja Devi, who beat goalkeeper Hooda from close range.
However. Gokulam Kerala were dealt a huge blow in the second half as they were forced to play with 10 players. Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu picked up a second yellow card for a rough challenge on Cynthia Marcondes in the 46th minute. Reduced to ten players, Gokulam curbed their aggressive instinct and pushed players back to defend as the match slipped into a shootout
In the tie-breaker, Ashalata Devi, Sabitra Bhandari and Indumathi Kathiresan scored for the winners while Odisha’s Anju Tamang, Bala Devi and Pyari Xaxa Odisha failed to beat Beatrice.
In other quarterfinal matches, Sethu Madurai FC thrashed East Bengal FC 9-0 while Eastern Sporting Union beat Sports Odisha 5-3 in the tiebreaker. Both teams scored a goal each at the end of regulation time. Later, Kickstart FC banked on Kioko Elizabeth Katungwa’s injury-time strike to defeat HOPS FC 2-1 and booked the last semifinal spot.
