Home favourites Sports Odisha suffered their first defeat in the Indian Women League (IWL) by going down 1-0 to Kickstart FC in their third match at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar today. Asem Roja Devi scored the all-important goal of the match in the 90th minute.

The Karnataka-based side started the game on the stronger foot, displaying good passages of play on occasions. Kickstart had four of their seven attempts on target in the first half, but could not find the back of the net. On the other hand, Odisha Sports too found a couple of breakthroughs, but could not capitalise from either.

After finishing 0-0 in the first 45 minutes, the two sides looked all set for a solid second half. Kickstart in particular managed 16 shots on goal. Credit to Odisha Sports defence, the scoreline remained unchanged until the dying minutes of the game.

On the 90th minute, Irom Prameshwori Devi found space on the right flank and delivered a dangerous cross inside the box. The sudden force of the cross led to confusion between Sports Odisha defenders and Asem Roja Devi found herself in an advantageous position. The forward quickly reacted and lobbed the ball over Sports Odisha goalkeeper Sasmita Parida to give her side a crucial lead.

Sports Odisha had very little time left to equalise and in the end settled for an upsetting first defeat of the IWL season. Meanwhile, high-flying Kickstart FC made it three wins in as many games, rubbing shoulders with league leaders Gokulam Kerala.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Players of Kickstart FC celebrate after scoring the all-important goal in the IWL match against Sports Odisha in Bhubaneswar on 23 April 2022.