I-League 2021: Dennis Antwi brace powers Gokulam Kerala to win over Mohammedan, Punjab beat Real Kashmir

Kalyani: Gokulam Kerala FC rode on Dennis Antwi’s brace to defeat Mohammedan Sporting 2-1 and stay in the race for the I League title on Sunday. The win helped the Malabarians to go level on points (26) with Churchill Brothers and TRAU at the top of the I-League table. Antwi struck in the 19th and 33rd minutes, while Sujit Sadhu had pulled a goal back for the Black Panthers in the 85th minute. The I-League title will now be decided on the last day of the season with three teams in contention to lift the trophy — Gokulam Kerala, Churchill Brothers and TRAU FC. With Churchill and TRAU sharing points earlier in the day with a 1-1 draw, Gokulam Kerala had to win their match against Mohammedan Sporting in order to be in the title race and they did just that. Mohammedan were pinned by Gokulam Kerala with their usual style of holding on to possession and building from the back. In the 15th minute, much against the run of play, the Black Panthers had a chance to take the lead. Shilton DSilva latched onto a corner kick and released a thunderous volley that was saved well by the opposition goalkeeper. The Dennis Antwi show began in the 19th minute and at the end of half-time, two goals by the forward aided Gokulam to go in the half-time leading 2-0. First, in the 19th minute, Antwi latched onto a long ball by Sebastian and controlled it well, shielding it away from the opposition defensive line. In a remarkable fashion, he turned inside out and sent a powerful shot into the bottom corner to hand the Malabarians the lead. The Ghanaian made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute. He turned Faisal Ali inside out once more and blasted a venomous shot past the opposition goalkeeper to double Gokulam’s lead. Mohammedan had a late chance in the first half but Faisal Ali’s strike from distance made for easy picking by the opposition goalkeeper. Punjab beat Kashmir Chencho Gyeltshen’s 37th-minute strike helped Punjab FC register a hard-fought 1-0 win over Real Kashmir FC. With both Real Kashmir and Punjab FC out of the title race, the two teams were playing for pride. The match could have ended with more goals, had the goalkeepers of respective teams not been in inspired form. In the 4th minute, Real Kashmir had the chance to take the lead when Haroon Amiri found Lalrindika Ralte inside the box. Ralte set himself perfectly with a nimble touch, but his shot was saved miraculously by goalkeeper Kiran Limbu.

🗣️ Chencho Gyeltshen, Hero of the Match: "Today I'll just dedicate it (award) to all the fans back home & in India. Esp to Kiran since today is the last match for him, since he's leaving for the international duty"#RGPRKFC ⚔️ #LeagueForAll 🤝 #IndianFootball ⚽ #HeroILeague 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DO0VMAnBgj

— Hero I-League (@ILeagueOfficial) March 21, 2021

Punjab had their chance in the 11th minute when Aakash Sangwan’s swirling cross was met by a thunderous Chencho Gleytsen header but it lacked accuracy as a golden opportunity went amiss. Punjab came close to taking the lead in the 20th minute when goalkeeper Mithun Samanta made a world-class save from close range to deny Pritam Singh’s effort from inside the box. Nine minutes later, Chencho’s curling shot from the edge of the box was saved by Samanta’s fingertips. Real Kashmir tested their luck in front of the opposition goal in the 33rd minute when Dipanda Dicka’s header off a Sena Ralte free-kick was saved by Kiran Limbu. Punjab FC then took the lead in the 37th minute when Chencho capitalised on a Pritam Singh pass inside the box and released a shot into the bottom corner, leaving Mithun Samanta wrong-footed, to make the scoreline read 1-0. Real Kashmir were largely pinned to their own half, defending and for much of the second phase, the Snow Leopards had no answer for their rivals attacking style of football. Real Kashmir pushed for the equaliser in the dying embers of the match and Chesterpaul Lyngdoh’s shot in the 88th minute earned a good save by Kiran Limbu, but the Snow Leopards eventually ran out of steam. TRAU, Churchill draw A high-octane top-of-the-table clash between TRAU and Churchill Brothers ended in a 1-1 draw, forcing the I-League title to be decided on the last day of the season. Luka Majcen’s 28th-minute strike was cancelled out by Phalguni Singh’s 43rd-minute effort as the teams shared the points. Churchill, desperate to put behind their woes in the Championship stage of the season that saw them succumb to two back-to-back defeats, started the match on an attacking note. The Red Machines could have taken the lead as early as the second minute when Luka Majcen was found inside the box off a fine pass. Majcen’s shot from close range, however, failed to find the net, as TRAU survived an early scare. In the 23rd minute, Bryce Miranda missed a sitter and probably the best goal-scoring opportunity of the match. With the goalkeeper out of position, Miranda had to just tap the ball home from close range. But, he fluffed his shot. [caption id=“attachment_9445481” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] All it took for the Manipur-based club was one through-ball in the 43rd minute to bring the match to level terms. Twitter @ILeagueOfficial[/caption] Churchill’s dominance finally paid off in the 27th minute when the referee pointed to the spot for a clumsy tackle inside the box. Luka Majcen stepped up to take the penalty kick and smashed it home to hand Churchill the lead. TRAU were playing catch-up to Churchill Brothers for much of the first half. With Komron Tursunov leaving for international duty for Tajikistan, the Nandakumar-coached side struggled to stitch attacks as Bidyashagar Singh was left isolated up front. However, all it took for the Manipur-based club was one through-ball in the 43rd minute to bring the match to level terms. A fine pass by Bidyashagar split the defensive pairing of Hamza Kheir and Keenan Almeida in two as Phalguni Singh beat them for speed and latched onto the ball. With just the opposition goalkeeper to beat, Phalguni slotted the ball home to make the scoreline 1-1. In the second half, the Red Machines continued their attacking dominance but were left frustrated in the final third as TRAU committed bodies in defence and defended in numbers.