Amman: Gokulam Kerala FC suffered a 1-2 loss in their maiden appearance in the continental tournament at the hands of Jordanian side Amman Club at the Aqaba DevelopmentCorporate Stadium in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday night.
Gokulam, playing in the pilot edition of the AFC Women’s ClubChampionship, opened the scoring in the match through their Ghanaianforward Elshaddai Acheampong, but Amman pulled back in the second half from dead ball situation.
It was a quick start to the match as both sides looked for a breakthrough in the opening exchanges. Gokulam’s goalkeeper and captain Aditi Chauhan made a few well-judged saves to keep Amman out.
In fact, it was Gokulam’s Elshaddai Acheampong, who got the breakthrough on the 33rd minute. Aditi Chauhan, who had made a save at the other ends, launched a long ball towards the Ghanaian forward, who shrugged off her marker and chipped it over an onrushing goalkeeper’shead to score.
After the half-time break, however, it was a different story as Ammansurged forward looking for a reply. They had the perfect opportunity to do so near the hour mark when Gokulam defender Michel Castanha was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area. Amman SCcaptain Maysa Ziad stepped up and made no mistake, as she planted her shot into the back of the net.
A few minutes later, Samia Ouni curled a left-footer into the top corner from a direct free-kick, to put the Jordanian side in the lead.
The Malabarians will face Shahrdari Sirjan of Iran in their next match on Wednesday, November 10.
The game kicks off at 7.30 PM IST, according to the All India Football Federation.
