Kolhapur clinched a decisive win, by defeating Gondia 3-0 in the concluding Group-C league match, of the LIC-Maharashtra State Inter-District Senior Women’s Football Championship -2016, organized by MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) and played at the Karnatak Sporting Association ground, Cross Maidan, Churchgate end, on Thursday.
Kolhapur striker (orange) tries to get past a Gondia defender (red) during their Group-C league match of the LIC-Maharashtra State Inter-District Senior Women’s Football Championship.
This was the second win for the Kolhapur outfit, who, finished with seven points and topped the group to qualify for Saturday’s semi-final againt hosts Mumbai. Gondia finished second with six points and Jalgaon third with four points.
The Kolhapur side faced a must-win situation and went on the offensive from the start and they did well to take the lead through Prithvi Gaikwad’s strike in the 14th minute before Aishwarya Haidar netted the second in the 25th minute. The Gondia tried their best to get back into the match and created a couple of openings but were unable to find the net. Kolhapur were fortunate to add the third goal courtesy an own goal scored by Gondia defender Raveena Bombade in the 42nd minute.
In another Group-C encounter, Jalgaon trounced Amravati by a clear 8-0 margin. Sharda Sapkale and Sushma Dhere, both scored a brace of goals each, while Pooja Nemade, Monu Gulhe, Divya Patil and Rohini Sonawane, all chipped in with a goal apiece to round of the winning tally.
There will be no matches on Saturday and the first semi-final between Mumbai and Kolhapur will be played at the Cooperage ground on Saturday, April 30 at 4.00 pm.
The second phase of the competition to be played between the Group-B and Group-D teams will commence from Sunday, May 1,2016 at the Karnatak Sporting Association ground.
Results – Group – C: Jalgaon 8 (Sharda Sapkale 2, Sushma Dhere 2, Pooja Nemade, Monu Gulhe, Divya Patil, Rohini Sonawane) beat Amravati 0.
Kolhapur 3 (Prithvi Gaikwad, Aishwarya Haidar, OG-Raveena Bombade) beat Gondia 0.