I-League: Aizawl beat Gokulam Kerala FC 2-0

Aizawl FC’s new head coach Yan Law is yet to join the team but he will be more than happy seeing the performance that the players put up to win 2-0 against Gokulam Kerala in their I-League tie in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Dominating from the very word go, Aizawl took the lead in the 40th minute when MC Malsawmzuala converted from the spot. Then 21 minutes into the second half, the club from the northeast doubled their lead against the run of play when Lalrammawia scored a brilliant side-footed volley following a corner.
Trailing by two goals, Gokulam tried their best to get back into the game but it was of no avail as Aizawl held on to their first win of this edition.With this win they have three points from two matches and are fifth on the table. Gokulam also have three points but have lost two of their matches.
Aizawl will next take on Indian Arrows on Sunday while Gokulam will face off against NEROCA FC on Monday.
Having lost their first match to Punjab FC, Aizawl began the game with a positive mindset and had their first shot on goal in the third minute of the match itself when Lalremsanga took a long shot at the Gokulam goal but it was easily kept away by their goalkeeper Ubaid Kadavath.
Not losing hope, they kept shooting for goal from distance but couldn’t trouble Kadavath. At the other end, Gokulam had a great chance to take the lead when Afghanistan’s Mohammad Sharif played a through to Philip Adjah but Aizawl goalkeeper Zothanmawia came out of his blocks and put his body on line and all Adjah could do was blast his shot against the goalkeeper.
Aizawl, however, did not get demotivated and pushed on and earned the penalty in the 39th minute after Gokulam skipper Awal Mohammed fouled Malsawmzuala inside the box. Lalremsanga had floated a long pass from the right and Kadavath made a mess while intercepting it only to knock the ball in front of Malsawmzuala. As the Mizo forward was getting ready for his shot, Awal tripped him from behind and the referee did not think twice before awarding the penalty. And Malsawmzuala obliged from the spot as he calmly placed it into the left bottom corner while the goalkeeper dived to the other side.
Then Gokulam got a chance to equalize at the stroke of half-time when they won a free-kick just outside the box but to their dismay, Sharif’s shot hit the crossbar.
The team from Kerala was again unlucky at the beginning of the second half when Ghana’s Dennis Agyare Antwi was also denied by the bar. They kept attacking but the Aizawl defenders as well as their goalkeeper did well to keep them at bay.
The game intensified and it seemed as if Gokulam would score any minute. But it was Aizawl who doubled their lead when they won their first corner of the second half with 15 minutes left on the clock and Lalrammawia volleyed it into the top of the net.
Meanwhile, a minute’s silence was observed ahead of the match in memory of former India U-17 assistant coach Bitan Singh, who passed away in Imphal on Wednesday morning.