Gokulam Kerala secure the victory as well as the I-league championship after defeating TRAU by 4-1 today at Kishore Bharati Krirangan. It was a do or die situation for both the teams as whoever wins the match would get crowned as the champions.
After 14 rounds of games, three teams were battling for the title Gokulam Kerala, Churchill Brothers, and TRAU. All three teams had 26 points and were differentiated by their head-to-head results. But all that doesn’t matter now as the Kerala side have won the league.
Gokulam Kerala also create history by becoming the first-ever team from Kerala to lift the trophy. On the other hand, TRAU’s young sensation Bidyashagar wins the Golden Boot as he finishes the league being the top scorer by scoring 12 goals.
Gokulam Kerala FC 4-1 TRAU FC: Team News
Gokulam Kerala were using(4-3-3) as their formation playing U.CK, D Devrani, M Awal, N H Singh, E Benny, S Thangmuansang, Lalromawia, S Mukhammad, D Antwi, P Adjah, V Baretto. Only one change was made Mayakkannan was replaced by Lalromawia.
TRAU were playing with the formation of (4-5-1) playing S Khan, S d Singh, Y N Singh, A Gope, H L Ribeiro, J Olaleye, K P Singh, K K Singh, D E Santo, C Horam. TRAU Also made only one change playing Santo in place of C K Singh.
Gokulam Kerala FC 4-1 TRAU FC: Match Analysis
Gokulam Kerala started the match well by dominating the possession but it were TRAU who got the lead through their wonder kid Bidyashagar Singh scoring in the 24th minute. Kerala pushed immensely but failed to go through as the Manipuri side held on to the lead and went to break by leading with 1 goal.
However, Gokulam came as a different team in the second half and caused a lot of problems to the Manipuri Defense. They were awarded a free kick in the 69th minute and a minute later, Sharif, managed to find the back of the net from the free-kick to bring Gokulam back in the game.
From that point, TRAU lost the momentum and got overwhelmed by the attacking prowess of Gokulam as Benny and Antwi scored in quick succession within three minutes of each other to give the Kerala side a commanding lead. TRAU got a great chance in the 80th minute but failed to capitalize on it.
However, the drama didn’t end there as Baretto had to leave the ground because of a red card, and Kerala were left with 10 men in the final minutes of the match. But in the end, Rashid found the net which acted as the final nail in the coffin and Gokulam Kerala came victorious.
Despite of a fantastic season TRAU failed to win the league and ran short in the final as Gokulam Kerala dominated them and became the champions of I-League 2021.
Notable Performances:
Dennis Antwi: Couldn’t display his prolific goal-scoring capabilities but overall had a good match, did the job for what he was assigned.
Bidyashagar Singh: Even after being on the losing side Bidyashagar managed to provide the lead and showed us his incredible form and consistency.
Also, follow our Twitter page for the latest updates on Indian Football and European football.
