Kolkata, January 8: East Bengal Women are set to complete the first phase of the Indian Women’s League 2025–26 when they face Gokulam Kerala FC in their sixth match of the season. Sitting comfortably at the top of the table with 15 points from five matches and an impressive 21 goals scored, the Moshal Girls have enjoyed a near-perfect start to their title defending campaign.
This fixture also marks the conclusion of East Bengal’s first-phase schedule before the league breaks for international commitments. The IWL this season has been divided into two phases, with the second phase scheduled to begin in April.
While Gokulam Kerala FC have managed 7 points from six matches, their league position does not fully reflect their experience and pedigree in the IWL. A side known for their competitive mindset, Gokulam are capable of testing any opponent on their day.
East Bengal still have one first-phase fixture remaining, the Kolkata derby against Srebhumi FC. However, that match has been postponed due to East Bengal Women’s participation in the SAFF Club Championship in Nepal during the scheduled period. As a result, the match will now be played in the second phase of the league.
Fazila Ikwaput, former Gokulam Kerala FC player, enjoyed a highly successful spell with the club, where she won the Golden Boot. This season, she has joined East Bengal Women, and in her first IWL campaign for the club, she has already scored eight goals in five matches. In the previous match, Fazila also reached a major milestone by completing 50 goals in the Indian Women’s League.
Fazila suffered a head injury in the last match, but she has now fully recovered and is fit to be named in the starting XI for tomorrow’s clash.
Facing her former club for the first time, she said, “ focus is to getting three points and remaining at the top for the season, my target is to be consistent and continue scoring goals, I am just looking upon scoring goals, even in tomorrow’s game.”
Speaking about her 50-goal milestone, she stated that she wants to thank her team and especially head coach Anthony Andrews, who was also with her at Gokulam Kerala FC. Fazila added that she wants to keep the momentum going and continue scoring goals.
Anthony Andrews’ side are yet to concede a goal in the ongoing campaign, with goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu keeping her net untouched so far. The team has also shown excellent discipline, maintaining a clean fair-play record without any card issues this season.
After showing dominance over the last few seasons, Gokulam Kerala FC are still searching for their rhythm so far, having played six matches. On the other hand, the defending champions are on target to defend their title, approaching the final clash of the first phase.
East Bengal FC Coaches view:
Anthony Andrews stated, “in any game our approach is to chase the points, and on that we are working on, on gokulam Kerala current form, I really think a team really needs time to settle down, they didn’t start as they wanted but their graph is picking up. We want to come up with out tactical plans and we want to execute that, and wants to grab the three points.”
While acknowledging the opposition’s improving form, the East Bengal coach remains firm on executing his team’s plans and chasing all three points to end the first phase strongly.
A positive result against Gokulam Kerala FC would further reinforce their status as title contenders and set the tone for the decisive second phase in April. All eyes will be on whether the Moshal Girls can once again deliver a composed and dominant performance as they aim to keep their momentum firmly intact.
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