Ludhiana, March 17 Gokulam Kerala FC remained in the hunt for the 2024-25 I-League title as they sealed a dramatic 3-1 victory over nine-man Namdhari FC at the Namdhari Stadium on Monday.
Thabiso Brown (57’), Adama Niane (81’), and Ignacio Abeledo (90+2’) were the scorers for the visitors, while Manvir Singh (63’) netted Namdhari’s only goal, with all the strikes erupting in a fiercely contested second half.
Gokulam Kerala hold the fourth place in the I-League standings with 31 points from 19 matches and are just three points behind league leaders Churchill Brothers, who have a game in hand. Gokulam Kerala’s resolve will surely be tested in their remaining three fixtures as they chase the championship. The Malabarians have now won three on the trot away from home.
For Namdhari FC, the match was a bitter pill to swallow even as their title hopes diminished significantly. The home side were reduced to 10 men in the 27th minute after defender Sukhandeep Singh received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, drastically changing the game’s dynamics. This disadvantage was compounded later when Cledson Carvalho Dasilva was sent off for dissent in the 60th minute, leaving Namdhari with nine men.
Despite the dismissals, Gokulam Kerala initially struggled to capitalise. The first half remained goalless, thanks to several outstanding saves from Namdhari’s young goalkeeper Nishan Singh, who denied Abhijith K, Martin Chaves, and Sergio Llamas Pardo.
The breakthrough for Gokulam Kerala came in the 57th minute when Abeledo delivered a cross that was misjudged by Namdhari’s Gursimrat Singh. The ball fell perfectly for Brown, who headed it into the net, giving Gokulam Kerala the lead.
However, Namdhari showed resilience, and despite being two men down, they equalised six minutes later through Manvir Singh, who met Bhupinder Singh’s free-kick with a precise header.
The match appeared poised for an unlikely draw, but Gokulam Kerala’s numerical advantage finally told. In the 81st minute, Llamas spotted Niane’s run and delivered a long pass over the defence, with Niane making no mistake to restore Gokulam’s lead. As the match drew to a close, Abeledo cemented the win with a powerful left-footed strike in stoppage time, ensuring Gokulam Kerala left with all three points.
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