I-League: Abeledo brace lifts Gokulam Kerala to 3rd

Kozhikode: Spanish forward Ignacio de Loyola Abeledo struck twice as Gokulam Kerala FC secured a dominant 2-0 win over Sporting Club Bengaluru in their I-League clash here on Thursday. The Spaniard opened the scoring in the 8th minute before sealing the victory in the 90th.

The result moves Gokulam to third place with 19 points from 11 matches.

Some brilliant close passing link up play between Martin Chaves and Vadakkepeedika saw the latter lay the ball into Abeledo’s path inside the box. The Spaniard’s low shot towards the right corner was inch perfect as Kuriyama’s dive was in vain.

Abeledo scored a second in the final minute of the game, running on to a cleared ball to launch a one-man counter attack. He took the ball to the left, forcing Yuya Kuriyama off his line and despite the tighter angle finished brilliantly into the far corner to ensure his side’s victory. Gokulam controlled the game throughout. The only blemish from their game came in the sixth minute of injury time, when Salam Ranjan Singh picked up a second yellow card for a needless foul, to be sent off. Despite that, the hosts comfortably saw out

the win.