HOPS FC 0
lost to
Sribhumi FC 3 (Apurna Narzary 24’, Sandra Atinga 79’, Rimpa Haldar 84’)
NEW DELHI: Relegation from Indian Women’s League 2024-25 was confirmed for HOPS FC, who suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Sribhumi FC at the Ambedkar Stadium, on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Goals from Apurna Narzary (24’), Sandra Atinga (79’), and Rimpa Haldar (84’) sealed a comfortable win for Sribhumi, who extended their unbeaten run to three matches. The first half ended 1-0 in the away side’s favour.
Heading into the fixture, HOPS were embroiled in a tight relegation scrap involving Odisha FC and Nita FA. To stand any chance of survival, they needed to win both of their remaining matches. However, Saturday’s performance proved to be the final blow.
HOPS remain at the bottom of the table with eight points from 13 games, making it mathematically impossible for them to climb out of the relegation zone — even if they win their final match against Sethu FC. Odisha FC are placed a rung above them at the seventh spot with 12 points from as many matches.
Sribhumi, meanwhile, are on a high. With East Bengal already crowned champions, Sribhumi are placed third with 19 points from 13 matches.
From the outset, Sribhumi took command of the match, dominating possession and using the width of the pitch effectively. Their quick passing and structured movement made it difficult for HOPS to find any rhythm.
The breakthrough came in the 24th minute. A powerful strike from Ngangom Bala Devi inside the box was blocked at full stretch by HOPS goalkeeper Kajal. However, the ball rebounded into the path of Apurna Narzary, who calmly finished to give Sribhumi the lead.
HOPS had a golden opportunity to respond when Gladys Amfobea was brought down inside the area. The Ghanaian forward stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but her effort lacked conviction and was easily saved by Sribhumi’s goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan, who dived the right way to preserve her team’s advantage.
Sribhumi remained in control, but a series of missed chances in front of goal meant they went into half-time with just a 1–0 lead.
The second half followed a similar pattern. Sribhumi created wave after wave of attacks, and the pressure eventually told in the 79th minute when Sandra Atinga curled home a stunning free-kick from a tight angle, doubling her side’s lead.With HOPS visibly deflated, Sribhumi added a third in the 84th minute. A clever layoff by Bala Devi found Rimpa Haldar, who showed composure to slot home and round off a comprehensive performance.
