Kangchup Road hammer Sethu
Kangchup Road Young Physical & Sports Association brushed aside Sethu FC 5- 0 in the Hero Indian Women’s League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Tuesday.
A brace from player of the match Ratanbala Devi ( 16th, 23rd minutes) and goals from Ngangom Bala Devi ( 9th), Dangmei Grace ( 62nd) and Asharani Devi ( 74th) clinched victory for the Manipur side.
Kangchup Road went on the attack from the word go as the combo of Bala Devi and Ratanbala tormented the Madurai- based team’s backline, mainly from the right flank.
Ashalata saw her attempt land on the top of the net in the second minute itself, with Bala taking a crack at the goal soon after.
The breakthrough arrived in the ninth minute when Bindya found Bala in the clear who rounded it past the keeper for the lead.
Ratanbala then increased the tally in the 16th minute. Seven minutes later she scored again when Grace’s flighted corner was glanced towards the far post. The rest of the first half was mostly played inside the Sethu half with Bala Devi being forced to leave the field with injury.
Sethu showed resilience as they began the second half on a positive note. There were few tussles in the midfield as Asharani and Tanvie Hans vied for the ball.
The passage of play was a back and forth affair as Tanvie was once ruled offside while Ratan missed the target by a whisker.
The resilience though came to an end as Grace struck from Hemolata’s ball to flatten all hopes of a Sethu’s comeback in the 62nd minute.
Bangladeshi forward Sabina Khatun added some teeth to the Sethu forward line but she was stonewalled each time by the duo of Wangkhem and Romi Devi. With around a quarter of an hour to go, Asharani unleashed a long ranger to hammer the final nail in the Sethu’s coffin in the 74th minute.
Kangchup Road now take on Rising Student’s Club on March 31 while Sethu FC play Gokulam Kerala FC on March 29.