AGENCIES, KOZHIKODE: Gokulam Kerala FC, winless in 12 games and over three and a half months, carved out an odd goal in the victory over Manipuri side Neroca FC at the EMS Corporation stadium in Kozhikode on Sunday.
Second half goals from Ghanaian Daniel Addo and Trinidadian Marcus Joseph secured three points for the home side after Nigerian Felix Chidi had scored his seventh of the 12th Hero I-League, to give Neroca a lead in the first half.
The win takes the Gokulam side to the ninth place on the points table. They are just above Minerva Punjab FC, thanks to a better head-to-head record.
More importantly, this steers them clear of the relegation zone, as bottom-placed Shillong Lajong can now only equal the Kozhikode-based side if they win their last two games. However, Gokulam have a better head-to-head record with Lajong, and thus cannot mathematically finish in the drop zone.
Neroca coach Manuel Fraile made as many as four changes to his starting XI before the game, while his Gokulam counterpart Gift Raikhan made two from their previous defeat against Aizawl.
The game began at a slow pace. Daniel Addo had a toe-poke in the 11th minute and then there was an effort by Chidi for Neroca at the quarter of an hour mark which ballooned over.
The battle for the 12th I-League title winner just got interesting as Minerva Punjab FC suffered a 0-1 loss against Kolkata giants East Bengal, at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, at Panchkula, on Sunday.
With this win, East Bengal are just a point shy of table toppers Chennai City FC, who along with the Red and Golds, would play their last league game on March 9, 2019.
Enrique Esqueda scored the winning goal for East Bengal in the 75th minute.
While East Bengal now travel to Kozhikhode to play Gokulam Kerala FC on the ninth, Chennai City FC will host defending champions Minerva Punjab for their game on the same day. Both these games are slated for a 5 pm kick-off.
Arashpreet Singh found his way back in goal, while Sreyas VG and Moinuddin Khan found themselves in the playing XI in place of Makan Chothe and Prabhjot Singh respectively.
East Bengal, on the other hand, made two changes in the form of Salam Ranjan Singh and Toni Dovale, who found their way back in the starting XI in place of a suspended Borja Gomez and Brandon Vanlalremdika, respectively.
