AIFF-Indian Women’s League 2017-18 / First loss for Sethu FC (Madurai)

Sethu Football Club (Madurai) went down 5-0 to Indira Gandhi AS&E (Pondicherry) for their first defeat in three matches in qualifying Group A of the Indian Women’s League in Kolhapur (Maharashtra) on Friday (Dec 1).

Sethu FC, the only team from Tamil Nadu in the premier women’s competition organised by the All India Football Federation, will meet Rising Student Club (Odisha) on Sunday (Dec 3) in their final outing of the five-team all-play-all group.

With only the winners qualifying for the main draw, Sethu FC, Rising Student Club and Indira Gandhi AS&E (Pondicherry) are all in contention in Group A. Sethu FC will not only have to win by a big margin, their chances will also rely on the outcome of Indira Gandhi AS&E’s (Pondicherry) last match.

“It turned out to be a bad day for us,” said coach Kalpana Dass. “It’s all part of the learning curve for the girls. The Pondy side opted to attack as a form of defense and we also missed a lot of scoring opportunities. I’m sure we will come back strongly in the last game.”

Indira Gandhi AS&E (Pondicherry) were up 4-0 at halftime through goals by R Sandhiya, Pradeepa, Nathiya and Nikhila in what turned out to be a torrid time for Sethu FC goalkeeper Rumpa Malik, who was replaced by Soumiya. Pradeepa scored her second goal in the second half.

Sethu FC captain Rutuja Gunwant said, “We had a tough game but at the same time we missed a lot of opportunities. We will need to win big in our final game and that’s our focus.”

Sethu FC beat Baroda FA 16-0 and CM’s XI J&K State Sports Council 2-0 in their previous two matches.

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