Indian Women’s League: Kickstart FC claims its first win of the season

Kickstart FC secures first win in Indian Women’s League with goals from Abakah and Renu.

Kickstart FC secured its first win of the ongoing Indian Women’s League (IWL) season, beating Sethu FC 2-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on Thursday.

Assisted by midfielder Mariyammal Balamurugan, Ghanaian forward Philomena Abakah scored the first goal in the 55th minute. Abakah headed in Mariyammal’s aerial cross on the bounce. The cross was quite remarkable, as it went from around 30 yards on the left, from nearer the halfway line, to the scorer positioned near the right post on the bounce.

The clincher came in the 92nd minute, when midfielder Dangmei Grace’s assist from the right was tapped in by Renu to the bottom right corner of the net.

“We’ve worked really hard for these three points. We are looking forward to the second innings,” said Kickstart coach Langam Chaoba Devi, referring to the second half of the season.

Speaking about the standout reason for her team winning on Thursday, Kickstart captain Dalima Chhibber said: “It was the not-giving-up mentality. We’re going to carry forward that mentality.”

The result: Kickstart FC 2 (Philomena Abakah 55, Renu 92) bt Sethu FC 0.