AQABA
Gokulam Kerala FC defeated FC Bunyodkor 3-1 to finish third in the AFC Women’s Club Championship 2021 at the Aqaba Development Corporate Stadium, Jordan on Saturday.
Gokulam took a 1-0 lead through Elshaddai Acheampong going into the break before goals from Manisha and Karen Stefanny Paez either side of Umida Zoirova’s effort for Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor, netted a comfortable win for the Indian side.
Both teams were out of title contention, with Bunyodkor’s opening day defeat to Islamic Republic of Iran’s Shahrdari Sirjan proving costly in the final equation while Gokulam Kerala had yet to register a point.
The Uzbekistan side looked more threatening moving forward and came agonisingly close to taking the lead in the 18th minute when Nozimova forced a save from Shreya, who also stopped Ergasheva’s follow-up from point-blank range. The misses proved costly as Gokulam then caught Bunyodkor napping in the 34th minute when Manisha sent a wonderful cross to Soumya Guguloth, whose header was guided into the back of the net by Acheampong. Bunyodkor tried their best to find the equaliser to stay in the game but Shreya made sure Gokulam took a 1-0 lead going into the break.
Gokulam raced off the blocks in the second half and continued to pressure Bunyodkor, who were limited to counter-attacks. Disaster struck Bunyodkor when captain Luiza Sadirova received a red card for pushing Acheampong inside the six-yard box, with Manisha scoring the resulting penalty in the 62nd minute.
Bunyodkor responded immediately after the restart when Nozimova sent a wonderful through ball to Umida Zoirova, who beat the Gokulam defence before slotting home to reduce the deficit. Gokulam, however, restored their two-goal advantage in the 68th minute when substitute Karen scored from close range after Acheampong’s shot was denied by the bar.
