Ralte became the first Indian to score a hat-trick in this season of the I-league today.
Incidentally, Joby Justin with 9 goals is currently the joint third-highest Indian goalscorer in a season of the I-League (tied with Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and C. Sabeeth who scored the same no. of goals in the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2011-12 seasons). Only Sunil Chhetri (14 goals in the 2013-14 season), Mohammed Rafi (13 goals in the 2009-10 season) and Jeje Lalpekhlua (13 goals in the 2010-11 season) among the Indians have scored more goals than him in a particular I-league season. Justin has 4 matches remaining in the League to catch up with these players.
This is where credit must be given to Alejandro (and his support staff). He has kept faith in the younger players. Joby was very talented but lacked in fitness and application. Under the tutelage of Alejandro, he has turned into a goal-hungry, super-fit and agile striker. Not only is Joby regularly scoring goals, his work-rate has improved tremendously. Even today, there were a lot of times when he tracked back tirelessly to help out the defence.
Fitness is one area where EB has shown the most significant improvement. Take the case of Kassim Aidara for example. He is playing the role of the defensive midfielder to the T. It is obvious that Ralte, Esqueda and Joby will walk away with all the plaudits but Aidara's contribution to this victory is immense. He did all the dirty work--intercepting passes, tackling the attackers of the opposition and made sure that the team maintained its shape.
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Incidentally, Joby Justin with 9 goals is currently the joint third-highest Indian goalscorer in a season of the I-League (tied with Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and C. Sabeeth who scored the same no. of goals in the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2011-12 seasons). Only Sunil Chhetri (14 goals in the 2013-14 season), Mohammed Rafi (13 goals in the 2009-10 season) and Jeje Lalpekhlua (13 goals in the 2010-11 season) among the Indians have scored more goals than him in a particular I-league season. Justin has 4 matches remaining in the League to catch up with these players.
Fitness is one area where EB has shown the most significant improvement. Take the case of Kassim Aidara for example. He is playing the role of the defensive midfielder to the T. It is obvious that Ralte, Esqueda and Joby will walk away with all the plaudits but Aidara's contribution to this victory is immense. He did all the dirty work--intercepting passes, tackling the attackers of the opposition and made sure that the team maintained its shape.
East Bengal 5-0 Shillong Lajong