Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC have secured AFC Women’s Champions League Group Stage berth, by topping their preliminary round in Zarqa, Jordan.
Making their international debut, the Indian Women’s League champions first defeated Lion City Sailors FC (Singapore) 4-1 before notching a hard-fought 2-1 win over hosts Etihad Club on Saturday to qualify for the Group Stage of Asia’s elite women’s club competition.
A brace from 19-year-old Lynda Kom Serto and two own goals paved the way for Odisha FC’s 4-1 win over the Singapore outfit.
With Etihad Club winning 5-0 against Lion City Sailors in the next match, Odisha FC required nothing less than three points against the Jordanian champions to qualify from the group.
Expectedly, it started as a close contest but the Juggernauts managed to take a 1-0 lead at half-time thanks to Jennifer Kankam Yeboah’s 27th-minute goal after she was released in space by Neha.
However, Etihad Club found the equaliser in the 57th minute via Jordan’s all-time top-scorer Maysa Jbarah, who scored with a left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
But Odisha FC were not to be denied. They found their second goal in the 70th minute, with Lynda picking out Yeboah, who took advantage of an error in judgement by the Etihad goalkeeper, before slotting it into the back of an empty net.
The Juggernauts defended in numbers for the remaining 20 minutes.
India custodian Shreya Hooda also made a couple of remarkable saves in the dying minutes to ensure the win and cap off a historic night in Indian women’s football.
In the Group Stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League, Odisha FC will travel to Vietnam to face Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (Japan), Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team (Chinese Taipei), and hosts Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (Vietnam).
The Group Stage comprises three groups of four teams and will also be contested in a centralised league format from October 6-12.
The top two finishers of each group and the two best third-placed sides will progress to the quarters to be played on March 22 and 23, 2025.
A knockout stage draw will be conducted prior to the quarterfinals to determine the four pairings, which will be contested in a single-leg format, with the higher-ranked team of each tie to serve as the home side.
This will be followed by a centralised finals, which will see the semi-finals and final — all single-leg ties — being played out from May 21-24, 2025, to determine the first ever champions of the AFC Women’s Champions League.
PTI