AHMEDABAD, Apr 25: Reigning Indian Women’s League champions Gokulam Kerala FC will begin their 2023 campaign against debutants East Bengal FC at the EKA Arena here on Wednesday.
The two teams are placed in Group A and will be looking to make a solid start to the season.
Indian Super League side East Bengal are the first timers in IWL. Under the tutelage of head coach Sujata Kar, the Red and Gold Brigade are determined to leave a good first impression.
“We formed a team with some girls from the Calcutta league, three from Manipur and two from Arunachal Pradesh. We’ve tried to form a good team and had a chance to train for 10 to 12 days. My target for the coming days is to go to the final round,” said Sujata on her club’s realistic targets for the season.
Asked about her opponents, Sujata said, “Gokulam are a very strong side and won the title last year. They have several national team players, who recently came back together from the camp. We will try to give our best performance against them.”
Gokulam successfully defended their title last season with a whopping 11 wins in as many matches.
Ghanaian forward Elshaddai Acheampong had a remarkable season, finishing as the top goalscorer with 20 goals. However, with the team shaping up differently for the new season, it remains to be seen whether Gokulam Kerala can replicate their previous performances.
Head coach Anthony Andrews said about their expectations and targets for the upcoming campaign,
“The team is very different from the last season, but a few of our core players are still here and can lead from their previous experience. I believe we can and we hope to replicate the performance from last season, or maybe better than that.” (PTI)
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