The 2024-2025 I-League season kicked off with a thrilling encounter at the Deccan Arena in Hyderabad, where Gokulam Kerala FC clinched a dramatic 3-2 victory against Sreenidi Deccan FC.
This match set a high standard for the season, showcasing both teams’ tenacity and skill in a game that saw five goals and numerous dramatic moments.
From the onset, Gokulam Kerala, who finished third in the previous season, asserted themselves aggressively, nearly scoring within the first minute through Nacho Abelado’s effort, which narrowly missed the mark.
This early chance set a dynamic tone for the visitors, indicating their intent to dominate proceedings.
Sreenidi Deccan, the runners-up from last season, showed their mettle by absorbing the early pressure and gradually imposing their rhythm on the match.
Their efforts bore fruit when Lalromawia capitalized on a defensive lapse by Gokulam’s Mashoor Shereef and Nidhin Krishna. After an ineffectual clearance from Angel Orelien’s pass, Lalromawia found the back of the net, giving the hosts a temporary lead and boosting their confidence.
The game’s intensity further escalated in the second half as Gokulam returned with renewed vigor. Their persistence paid off in the 60th minute when Martin Chaves struck a powerful right-footer after Sreenidi’s Jagdeep Singh failed to clear a cross effectively, setting up VP Suhair for the assist.
This goal equalized the match and shifted the momentum in favor of Gokulam.
As the match neared its conclusion, Gokulam took the lead for the first time with Nacho Abelado making amends for his earlier miss. Capitalizing on a poor clearance by Sreenidi’s Emboklang Nongkhlaw, Abelado’s precise left-footer found its target in the 84th minute.
The climax of the match came in injury time when Soosairaj, returning from an injury, assisted Tharpuia for Gokulam’s third goal — a beautifully timed shot that further extended their lead.
However, the drama wasn’t over as Sreenidi Deccan’s David Castenada managed to score in the final moments of the match, narrowing the deficit but not enough to change the outcome.
Inter Kashi cash on Edmund’s goal to profit three points
Inter Kashi huffed and puffed before finally finding their way to a 1-0 victory over SC Bengaluru in the I-League 2024-25 at the Kalyani Stadium on Friday.
If the season opener was a standard setter, the second was a display of the disparity that only the I-League offers — a clash between title challengers and newly promoted unknowns. The team sheets further bolstered that disparity.
SC Bengaluru had promised to grow organically and give more local players a chance and their starting eleven featured just one foreigner. Inter Kashi used their full quota and even had one to spare.
Through the first half, SC Bengaluru showed up with grit, counterattacking nous and a sprinkling of underdog pluck to keep their hosts’ ambitions grounded. There could have been no better way to welcome Antonio Lopez Habas to the I-League.
Kashi showed their cards early with Joni Kauko and Nikolas Stojanovic driving the wheels in midfield to create chances as well as hold Bengaluru at bay. Within the first 10 minutes, the pair had a chance each, and both of them shot wide, the former from outside the box and the latter inside to the left.
Bengaluru goalkeeper Satyajit Bordoloi was Karnataka’s hero when they won the Santosh Trophy, and his first test came in the 15th minute after Edmund Lalrindika’s beautifully lobbed through ball fell to Domingo Berlanga inside the six-yard box. The Spaniard duly shot and Bordoloi made himself large to block it away with his outstretched leg.
The threat of one-way traffic was real, and Inter Kashi’s passing patterns made it feel like a training game at times in the opening quarter.
Slowly, Bengaluru grew into the game. Thomyo Simray in particular, was a constant threat on the wings with his burst of speed on the counter and forced Arindam Bhattacharya into a first save in the 19th minute.
As Bengaluru stuck to their guns and kept up the pressure on the counter, Kashi’s frustration grew. The game became increasingly physical. and on the sidelines, Habas fumed at imaginary slights.
Just before the half-hour mark, Bengaluru’s Jordan Lamela tested Bhattacharya once again, and then a brief impasse followed. With the game drifting towards halftime, Lamela gave Kashi one last scare in injury time.
His floated free kick from the left caught every Kashi player unaware, and crossed through the box, and across the goal before drifting just wide.
Football games aren’t won on paper, but sometimes the names on paper spring to life with moments of magic to turn them. And as it was, Edmund Lalrindika did just that in the 72nd to finally break the deadlock.
Karthik Panicker delivered a cross into the box from the left, with the newly minted Indian international the only Kashi target in the box. Lalrindika rose high and headed low, the ball bouncing in front of Bordoloi and nestling in the net.
The goal was enough for Kashi to break Bengaluru’s resolve. They held their opponents at arm’s length and strolled the rest of the game for a win.
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