IWL 2024-25: East Bengal Win Maiden Indian Women's League Title
East Bengal clinched their maiden Indian Women’s League title.
East Bengal won the 2024-25 Indian Women’s League (IWL) title after beating defending champion Odisha FC 1-0 at the Kalyani Stadium on Friday.
Soumya Guguloth scored the only goal of the match against Odisha FC, who are near the bottom of the table this season after lifting the title last season, as the Red and Gold brigade claimed the title as Odisha are now prime placed to suffer relegation, their fate not entirely in their own hands with one game left.
related stories
???????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? 🏆🇮🇳???????????????????????? ????????????????????’???? ???????????????????????? ????????????????-???????? ???????????????????????????????????? ❤️💛#IWL #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/dDceIIsXjE
— I-League (@ILeague_aiff) April 11, 2025
In their third season in the women’s top division, East Bengal halted all challenges with ease. They have beaten all teams, bar one — Gokulam Kerala — in the league this season and will no doubt look to amend that statistic heading into the final game of the season on April 18 when they will also be officially handed the trophy in Kalyani.
Despite thoroughly dominating the first half, East Bengal’s sudden freeze in front of goal extended into this game, too. Their forward trio of Maurine Achieng, Soumya Guguloth and Elshaddai Acheampong were guilty of not finishing good chances throughout the first half an hour.
The best of these fell to Achieng, who forced a brilliant diving save from Nandini off a sharp header from Sandhiya Ranganathan’s cross in the 35th minute. The next period of the game belonged to Odisha though, with Pyari Xaxa almost single-handedly bursting through East Bengal’s experienced defensive line before firing high when faced with just Panthoi Chanu to beat.
In a chaotic end to the half, both teams traded more chances, Xaxa’s header from a corner cleared by Karthika Angamuthu, and Acheampong’s long-range pile driver curling just wide of the far post.
The gap between the two sides this season is evident from their places on the table, but the pitch would not suggest it. Odisha brought all the momentum to the second half, and Xaxa was guilty of missing the best chance of the game when she poked a loose ball inside the six-yard area wide. The chance had been created from a corner, and East Bengal looked relieved.
Just as it seemed that the game was going to drift by without much scoreboard action, Anju Tamang — who had scored in the 1-1 draw with Sribhumi in the previous match, after returning from injury — came on to inject some energy into the hosts’ attack. Tamang almost immediately tested Nandini’s reflexes, volleying from inside the box to draw a save. In the 67th she turned provider, playing an inch-perfect pass that split the defence and allowed Guguloth to run free towards goal. The forward finished it first time, with Nandini stranded, and duly brought out the celebrations.
East Bengal were perfectly-placed now, not just to win this game but also the title itself. Odisha were playing for a chance at survival and played like it, desperation evident in every attack. It didn’t matter though, as the hosts held on, buoyed in huge part by players who had done this before and won the league itself, to complete the result and win the title.
- Location :
- First Published: