East Bengal crowned SAFF women's club champions

Kathmandu, Dec 20 (PTI) East Bengal FC on Saturday clinched the title of the inaugural edition of the SAFF Women's Club Championship with a dominant 3-0 win over hosts APF FC in the summit clash at the Dasrath Stadium here.

Ugandan striker and two-time IWL top-scorer Fazila Ikwaput (22nd, 46th) scored a brace, while India international Shilky Devi Hemam (35th) netted once to complete a perfect campaign for the Moshal Girls.

East Bengal thus became the first Indian women's club to win an international tournament.

Anthony Andrews' side scored 14 goals and conceded none in their five matches during the tournament.

They had brushed aside Transport United FC of Bhutan 4-0 (December 8), Karachi City FC of Pakistan 2-0 (December 11) and Nasrin Sports Academy of Bangladesh 7-0 (December 14) before being held to a 0-0 draw by APF FC of Nepal in the last match of the group stage (December 17).

In the rematch on Saturday, however, the home side were no match for the reigning IWL champions, who found their rhythm from the start, scoring twice in the first half and again just moments into the second half, before putting on a strong defensive display towards the end of the game to see off the clean sheet. PTI PDS PDS KHS