Sun shines on Kashmir despite snow
Snow Leopards ride on Krizo’s goal against Gokulam in chilling conditions to jump on top spot
The fairy tale run of Real Kashmir Football Club in the I-League continued as the club from the Valley defeated Gokulam Kerala FC by a solitary goal to go to the top of points table here on Wednesday.
The match between the 'Snow Leopards' and Gokulam was played at the TRC Ground in chilling weather conditions amid a mix of rain and snowfall with none of the teams willing to yield the ground.
Ivorian striker Gnohere Krizo scored the all-important goal in the 51st minute to hand Real Kashmir full three points from the match.
The win propelled the Jammu and Kashmir side to the top of the table with 32 points, dislodging Chennai City FC (30 points) which, however, have two games in hand over Real Kashmir.
Chennai City will take on Indian Arrows on Friday while Real Kashmir will meet East Bengal at home on Sunday. Each team will play 20 matches in the league.
It started snowing before the match and heavy rains lashed the ground later on. The two sides played a goalless first half as controlling the ball became difficult for the players of both the teams due to waterlogging in many patches of the Synthetic Astro Turf pitch.
Real Kashmir should have taken the lead in the first half but Krizo missed several easy chances to put his side ahead.