Pyari Xaxa scored in the last minute of the first half to give Odisha FC the win against HOPS FC in the Indian Women’s League at the Bhubaneshwar Football Academy stadium on Wednesday.

This win cements Odisha’s position at the top of the IWL table, as they have four wins out of four with no goals conceded so far.

The scoreline at the end of the match did not tell the full story, as Odisha dominated the match throughout with eighty percent of ball possession. Despite the win, Crispin Chettri, the Odisha coach, would not be happy with his frontline, as they managed to score only one goal from their 12 shots on target.

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HOPS FC goalkeeper Anshika pulled out some fantastic saves to keep the lead narrow throughout the match.

But the player who made the difference for Odisha today was Astam Oraon, who worked tirelessly throughout the match and created many chances in the final third. It was the right back who fed Win with the ball, who then crossed the ball to Xaxa for an easy header to give Odisha the lead. Oraon also had an impressive defensive performance and kept the dangerous Gladys Amfobea at bay for the entirety of the match.

Odisha started the match with a fast pace, as they stacked up two efforts in the first and second minutes of the game itself. Their intentions were clear and it looked like they wanted to send out a message to the likes of Gokulam Kerala and Kickstart FC, who seem like the two teams that could challenge Odisha for the IWL 23-24 title.

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Odisha could have had an early lead as Win Theingi Tun hit the post in the seventh minute to rattle HOPS FC. They had numerous chances to take the lead in the first half and double their lead in the second half, but Anshika came up with some brilliant saves to keep the lead at 1-0 till the final whistle blew.

Odisha maintain their lead at the top of the table with twelve points, whereas HOPS FC only have three points from four matches and sit in sixth place.