Indian Women’s League (IWL) champions East Bengal women started their maiden SAFF Women’s Club Championship campaign, trouncing the Bhutanese champions Transport United Ladies 4-0 in their opening group fixture on Sunday. Their Ugandan striker Fazila Ikwaput (36, 72) struck the brace while youngster, Sulanjana Raul (60), and the Ugandan midfielder, Resty Nanziri (63), scored one goal each for Red and Gold Brigade in Kathmandu.
Player of the Match Fazila mentioned that this is just the beginning, and the team will be aiming something bigger. This tournament will help them identify what they need to do to move ahead.
East Bengal started the domination from the beginning and was able to create plenty of space on the wings for Sulanjana and Soumya to make quick runs. Still, they had to wait 35 minutes for their opening goal. On a counterattack, Soumya found some space on the right flank, which she made full use of before laying an accurate cross to Fazila, who headed home cleanly. After that, the Indian side got plenty of chances in the opening half, but they couldn’t convert them, and the score-line remained unchanged at halftime.
In the second half, they showed better chemistry in their forward line, which led to two beautiful team goals near the 60-minute mark, from Sulanjana and Nanziri. In the 72nd minute, Sulanjana again showed her magical footwork to cut past her marker and assisted a chip ball to Fazila, who calmly controlled it before completing her brace. East Bengal is now in joint top position with Nepal’s APF Club with 3 points. They will next take on Pakistan’s Karachi City FC in the second group match on 11th December.
