Kickstart FC 3 (Mariyammal Balamurugan 11′, Karishma Shirvoikar 45+3′, Dangmei Grace 63′)
beat
Sribhumi FC 2 (Mousumi Murmu 29′, Rimpa Haldar 52′)
AIFF Media Team
BENGALURU: Kickstart FC registered their second win of the IWL 2024-25 season when they defeated third-placed side Sribhumi FC 3-2 at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The winners led 2-1 at halftime.
Kickstart’s Mariyammal Balamurugan (11′), Karishma Shirvoikar (45+3′) and Dangmei Grace found the targets, while Mousumi Murmu (29′) and Rimpa Haldar (52′) netted for the visitors from Kolkata.
Having played nine matches so far, Kickstart have as many points and are placed seventh in the table, while Sribhumi will stay in third place with 12 points from the same number of matches.
Playing on their home turf, Kickstart began with a positive mindset and banged in the first goal in the 11th minute with a gem of a strike. A direct corner kick sent in by Mariyammal from the right took an unexpected turn to enter the net, leaving goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan stranded.
Sribhumi responded in the 29th minute after Kickstart’s Linthoingambi misjudged a clearance and came out of the line. Her move proved costly as Mousumi Murmi capitalised on the error to bring Sribhumi level with a swift shot from close. Kickstart faced another scare in the 35th minute when India international Dalima Chhibber had to clear off the line to prevent Sribhumi from taking the lead.
As the first half neared its end, Kickstart regained control. Aditi was caught out of position, and Karishma’s deflected shot found the net, making it 2-1 just before halftime.
Not to be undone yet, Sribhumi equalised seven minutes into the second half. This time, Mousumi’s shot was parried away by Linthoingambi, but Rimpa Haldar reacted quickly to tap in the rebound.
The story wasn’t over yet, as Kickstart FC had the last laugh. The home side regained their advantage in the 63rd minute when Dangmei Grace found the net off an Abakah assist from the left to make it 3-2.
Sribhumi FC attempted to push forward, with Rimpa making runs and Mousumi delivering key passes, but they were unable to find another breakthrough. Despite late efforts from Sribhumi, Kickstart held on to the lead grimly, taking all three points from the match.
