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Exerting their dominance in the Indian Women's League, Gokulam Kerala FC cruised to yet another statement victory as they hammered ARA FC 8-0 at the Kalinga Stadium on Thursday.
Talismanic striker Elshaddai Acheampong scored a hat-trick coming off the bench to seal the victory for the Malabarians.
The Calicut-based club oozed their usual confidence right from the get-go. GKFC didn't need a second invitation to open the scoring as Manisha Kalyan found the back of the net in the fifth minute. Gokulam Kerala kept dominating possession and pinning down the Gujarat side.
The Malabarians doubled their lead at the half-hour mark when Dangmei Grace took advantage of ARA FC's defensive lapse and beat the keeper from close range. Gokulamkept control of the proceedings until the half-time whistle.
Gokulam Kerala FC come out firing all cylinders in the second-half against ARA FC
However, after the break, they came out with replenished zeal to humble ARA FC. The reigning champions proceeded to unleash a scoring onslaught as Soumya Guguloth set the tone with a thunderous header in the 49th minute. Minutes later, Myanmar international Win Tun made it 4-0 after the ARA FC defense failed to clear the ball again.
With the introduction of Elshaddai off the bench, ARA FC's troubles only worsened. In the 70th minute, the Ghanaian forward scored off a brilliant header after Dalima Chhibber provided her with a perfectly-weighted cross inside the box.
Although the tie was already sealed, Gokulam's hunger for goals didn't die down. The Malabarians went on to score their sixth in the 79th minute as Elshaddai registered her seventh of the Hero IWL campaign.
Before the referee could blow the final whistle, Gokulam Kerala continued to pile on the Ahmedabad club's misery as substitute Jyoti tucked home the seventh goal of the night.
In one final bit of action, Acheampong grabbed her hattrick in the third minute of added time. The Ghanaian forward met Jyoti’s tantalizing cross and scored with her first touch to bury Gokulam's eighth goal.
With this dominating victory, GKFC consolidated their place at the top of the IWL 2022 table.
