Sribhumi FC 1 (Sandra Atinga 88′)
drew with
East Bengal FC 1 (Anju Tamang 82′)
AIFF Media Team
BARRACKPORE: Sribhumi FC broke city rivals East Bengal’s winning streak to hold them to a 1-1 draw in the IWL 2024-25 at the Bibhutibhushan Stadium on Saturday, April 5, 2025. A victory would have handed East Bengal their inaugural IWL title, but they still extended their lead to five points since their nearest rivals Gokulam Kerala FC suffered a defeat against Kickstart FC on the same day.
With two more games to play, East Bengal can become champions on April 11 should they beat last season’s winners Odisha FC. Sribhumi, meanwhile, remained in third place with 16 points from 12 matches.
The first half was peppered with East Bengal’s inability to convert their chances into a lead. Within the first five minutes, Maurine Achieng missed a brilliant chance having been played through on goal by captain Elshaddai Acheampong.
A minute later, it was Resty Nanziri’s time to miss, the Ugandan snapping up at the end of a cross from Sarita Yumnam, only to put her chance wide. Elshaddai had a go herself in the 20th minute, her shot from outside the box bouncing off the upright.
Amid all these misses, Sribhumi carved some moments for themselves too. The best of them fell to skipper Bala Devi, who outjumped a trio of East Bengal defenders to get at the end of a cross only to see her header bounce off the crossbar.
The pattern repeated itself in the second half, and East Bengal were constantly in good positions inside the Sribhumi box, only to spurn their opportunities to go ahead. With 10 minutes to play, Anju Tamang came on as a substitute to boost a burgeoning forward line and within two minutes, had given East Bengal a much-desired lead.
Anju latched onto Elshaddai’s through ball in the box, before sliding a low shot under a diving Aditi Chauhan to give her side the lead and in close reach of their first IWL title. Within minutes though, Sribhumi cut the celebrations short.
From a freekick just outside the box, Sandra Atinga unleashed a fierce drive towards goal. The shot took a wicked deflection off the wall to wrong-foot Panthoi Chanu and nestled in the net. The hosts were level. They could even have taken a shock win, deep in injury time when Rimpa Haldar’s long-range attempt bounced off the crossbar to Panthoi’s relief. East Bengal will have to wait at least six more days for the title.
