Sribhumi FC 3 [Toijam Thoibisana Chanu 56’, Anju Chanu 79’, Anju Tamang 90+1’]defeated
Garhwal United FC 0
AIFF Media Team
KALYANI: Sribhumi Football Club utilised their resources well to fend off the spirited Garhwal United Football Club with three second-half goals to take home full points at the Kalyani Stadium, in Kalyani, West Bengal, on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
Stopper Thoibisana put Sribhumi ahead in the 56th minute. Even as Garhwal tried might and main to snatch the equaliser, Sribhumi made it 2-0 as Anju Chanu slammed home a stunning long ranger in the 79th minute before Anju Tamang added one more in the first minute of added on time to romp home fluent winners.
Sribhumi took their points tally to nine from five outings with three wins and two defeats, while Garhwal remain on seven from six matches, having won two, drawn one, and lost three. Garhwal were coming off a 1-1 draw against Gokulam while Sribhumi had lost 1-2 to Kickstart in their previous outings.
After playing on level terms for a little more than an hour in very mild sunshine, Sribhumi changed the script with a goal off a set-piece in the 57th minute. They forced a flag-kick, and as Mamta chipped it deep into the box, her defensive teammate Thoibisana came charging and sent the ball screaming into the net with the inside of her right foot as the defence lay scattered.
Taking control of the game, Sribhumi struck twice in the closing stages. Off a defensive clearance, Sribhumi’s Karishma Shirvoikar intercepted the ball in the centre. It ricochetted to the left, and midfielder Anju Chanu let fly a scorching right-footer that zoomed into the net past a hapless goalkeeper Ribansi Jamu.
And then in the 91st minute, India International Dangmei Grace sent Anju Tamang clear of the defence with a quick short pass in the centre. The golden-haired striker, an omnipresent threat all along, sprinted in and placed low to the right of the goalkeeper without blemish.
Both teams had their moments of supremacy in the first and second halves, but the set of battling defenders on either side provided little or no scope and space for clear shots at the goal. A couple of them were squeezed in, but without troubling the opponent goalkeepers.
Initially, Monalisha Devi in the Sribhumi goal had to endure some hard calls as Garhwal attacked most often from the right. The intelligent Deepika Pal and speedy and crafty Shruti Kumari spelt danger time and again with superb understanding, as skipper Sanfida Nongrum also chipped in with effective passes. They moved into open spaces well, with wing back Alka Indwar also moving up to provide support. But their centres did not cause many problems as Monalisha Devi plucked them off or were cleared in time.
Sribhumi relied more on the long balls into the box, more towards the centres, intended for Anju Tamang or Dangmei Grace. But Garhwal employed the double marking effectively and denied them clear openings or shots at goal. The closest they came to breaching the defence was when Shruti Kumari took from Deepika and lobbed to the unmarked Kim Kipgen. But in trying to control, Kim handled the ball and let go of the opportunity.
Just before the half time whistle, Sribhumi’s Karishma produced a dipping right footer which Ribansi Jamu dived and pushed out for an abortive corner while Garhwal’s Shruti Kumari struck into the onrushing Monalisha Devi after the latter had mistimed her charge off the line but was lucky to survive.
