AHMEDABAD, MAY 12: Mumbai Knights FC saw their Hero Indian Women’s League 2023 campaign come to end after a 11-1 loss against defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC. The match was held at the Shahibaug Police Ground on Friday 12th May 2023.
The loss was a tough one for the Maharashtra side as they had an uphill battle to qualify from Group A. Only and only three points would ensure qualification.
It was Sabitra Bhandari of Gokulam Kerala FC, leading goalscorer of Hero IWL 2023 who bagged seven goals in the match. The first four in the first half and three in the second half. One of those three came in second half added time.
Gokulam Kerala FC needed only ten minutes to open their account and immediately doubled their lead in the very next minute to make it 2-0. They were up 4-0 inside the first 20 minutes.
At the other end, midway to the first half, Bhumika Mane’s seemed to have landed in off the crossbar but wasn’t given as Mumbai Knights were denied a clear goal. Mumbai Knights hit the post in the next few seconds and could have almost pulled back two goals in little to no time but it wasn’t to be. Eventually after being 6-0 down, Bhumika pulled one back for Mumbai Knights as they were off the mark.
Indumathi Kathiresan had opened the scoring for Gokulam Kerala FC. Sandhiya Ranganathan who had been instrumental as a playmaker also scored a couple in the match. Asem Roja Devi also scored one of the eleven goals.
With 19 points Gokulam Kerala FC make the knockout stage as Group A toppers. Sports Odisha and East Bengal FC are 2nd and 3rd respectively with 13 points. HOPS FC finish 4th in the table with 12 points. Mumbai Knight FC finish fifth on 10 points, Misaka are 6th with 10 points as well. Mata Rukmani FC finish 7th with one point and Kahaani FC finish 8th which is bottom of Group A.
As you can see from the above figures, it was a close finish to seal the other three qualification spots from 2nd to 4th. Fine margins decided who went through. 2nd to 6th place in the table were separated by just three points. Mumbai Knights will be looking to introspect and bounce stronger for the next season of the Hero IWL.
