Gokulam Kerala FC 0
lost to
Namdhari FC 2 (Manvir Singh 14′, Cledson Carvalho da Silva 19′ p)
AIFF Media Team
KOZHIKODE: Namdhari FC’s dream run in the 2024-25 I-League continued as they beat Gokulam Kerala FC 2-0 at the EMS Corporation Stadium on Friday, January 17, 2025. The win – their third in a row and fifth in their last six matches – solidified second place for the Punjab side in the table. Meanwhile, Gokulam Kerala FC’s search for a first home win continued.
It ended Gokulam’s run of four unbeaten games and clean sheets in a row. They remained in fourth place with 13 points from nine games. Namdhari are on 17 points with five wins. Only leaders Churchill Brothers have won more games than them.
Efficiency is key towards winning a game of modern football, and the first half was a perfect example of it. Gokulam held the majority of the possession, had more shots on goal and even set pieces than Namdhari through the first half. And yet, Namdhari scored twice in that first period to no answer.
Their first goal arrived from their first corner of the game in the 14th minute, and with the Gokulam defence ball watching, Manvir Singh expertly headed the ball in to give them the lead. Four minutes later this was doubled, route one again proving to be Namdhari’s strength. Goalkeeper Jaspreet Singh’s long kick caught out the backtracking Gokulam defence and forced Shibinraj Kunniyil off his line to try and clear the ball away from Cledson Da Silva. Contesting the ball, he felled the Brazilian and the referee pointed to the spot.
The Brazilian lined up the spot kick himself, and despite Shibinraj guessing the right way, slotted it into the bottom left. Namdhari were two goals up in less than 20 minutes.
Gokulam kept pressing forward, creating and then spurning chances, often from situations where watchers would have expected better. And when they did manage to get their shots on target, Jaspreet stood strong to block them away. The best chance of the half fell to Martín Cháves, who played a brilliant one-two at the edge of the box with Sergio Llamas, before the latter chipped a pass through to Cháves running in. The Uruguayan volleyed it high from seven yards out.
The second half played out to the tunes of the first, Gokulam constantly pushing forward in numbers, creating chances and then missing them, often in the most inventive of ways. There was little their coach Antonio Rueda could do but clutch his head in disbelief.
Jaspreet Singh played his part to perfection between the sticks for the visitors, thwarting any attempt at goal, no matter the range. In the 72nd, he was instrumental to keep the danger at bay, blocking Suhair VP’s shot towards the near post after the forward had drifted in from the left and created an opportunity on his own.
On another day, Gokulam could have had a handful of goals, but not on this one, against an opposition determined to protect their unbeaten run and a clean sheet — their fifth in a row now.
