I had forgotten that Balwant Singh was still playing, if not seen him as one of the goalscorers for Delhi FC in a recent post by @sam. The last time I saw him play, his performance for East Bengal in the ISL was atrocious.
He has been the top scorer for his club, scoring seven goals this season.
Finally another I-League 2nd Division campaign begins !
The new system installed by Tetea Hmar whilst in charge of the I-League committee , certainly has some positives.
The teams that performed well in the 2nd Division last season : FC Bengaluru United, Sporting Clube de Goa, and United Sports Club have kept there place in the 3rd Tier. SUDEVA opted to withdraw from the tournament With the addition of the 2 Relegated I-League teams from Manipur : NEROCA & TRAU it brings it to 5 teams.
the 4 qualifiers from the complicated 3rd Division ( 4th Tier ) qualifier system were Diamond Harbour ( Champions ) , SAT Tirur , CHANMARI FC and KLASA.
Favourites / form guide imho DIAMOND HARBOUR FC : coached by former I-League winner and ISL Coach Kibu Vicuna* are the clear favourites with the biggest budget and a host of experienced players like Naro Shreshta , Jobi Justin and others with I-League and ISL experience.
SPORTING CLUBE De GOA : coach my Dronacharya ARMANDO COLACO , they are flying high in the Goa Pro League, on an unbeaten run. Have strengthened their squad with the likes of GPL top scorer Ronaldo Oliveira and ISL Hatrick man SEMBOI HAOKIP , shouldve learned from last years showing and qualify.
Contenders :
FC Bengaluru United : recently appointed Nallapan Mohanraj , but the short time to gel with the TEAM, and sqaud picked by others , will be a handicap. Will they once again be the perennial "bridesmaid"
CHANMARI FC : Very impressive in the 3rd Div and the MPL ,home grown squad have added Dipankur as their coach, will be tough to beat in Aizawl , but away from Mizoram ,expect them to struggle. They don't have the finances for I-League, so they will hoping to avoid relegation and stabilise as a 2nd Div team.
Dark horses :
SAT Tirur : relatively unknown entity , but with local players , will be tough prospect in Manjeri to play against. Inexperience will cost them away from home
United SC : Have the experience of the same Foreign coach Steve Herbots* and some Santosh tTrophy winning players , will be a tough nut to crack.
Also rans
The 3 Manipuri teams will have to play away from HOME most likley , and that will hamper them, although the talented youngsters that they can tap into with the experienced Veterans will mean they can play spoil sport to any of the above teams
Comments
Fantastic goal that by Balwant Singh!!
I had forgotten that Balwant Singh was still playing, if not seen him as one of the goalscorers for Delhi FC in a recent post by @sam. The last time I saw him play, his performance for East Bengal in the ISL was atrocious.
He has been the top scorer for his club, scoring seven goals this season.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/indian-football/news-delhi-fc-clinch-promotion-style-book-place-hero-i-league-alongside-shillong-lajong-fc
The new system installed by Tetea Hmar whilst in charge of the I-League committee , certainly has some positives.
The teams that performed well in the 2nd Division last season : FC Bengaluru United, Sporting Clube de Goa, and United Sports Club have kept there place in the 3rd Tier. SUDEVA opted to withdraw from the tournament
With the addition of the 2 Relegated I-League teams from Manipur : NEROCA & TRAU it brings it to 5 teams.
the 4 qualifiers from the complicated 3rd Division ( 4th Tier ) qualifier system were Diamond Harbour ( Champions ) , SAT Tirur , CHANMARI FC and KLASA.
Favourites / form guide imho
DIAMOND HARBOUR FC : coached by former I-League winner and ISL Coach Kibu Vicuna* are the clear favourites with the biggest budget and a host of experienced players like Naro Shreshta , Jobi Justin and others with I-League and ISL experience.
SPORTING CLUBE De GOA : coach my Dronacharya ARMANDO COLACO , they are flying high in the Goa Pro League, on an unbeaten run. Have strengthened their squad with the likes of GPL top scorer Ronaldo Oliveira and ISL Hatrick man SEMBOI HAOKIP , shouldve learned from last years showing and qualify.
Contenders :
FC Bengaluru United : recently appointed Nallapan Mohanraj , but the short time to gel with the TEAM, and sqaud picked by others , will be a handicap. Will they once again be the perennial "bridesmaid"
CHANMARI FC : Very impressive in the 3rd Div and the MPL ,home grown squad have added Dipankur as their coach, will be tough to beat in Aizawl , but away from Mizoram ,expect them to struggle. They don't have the finances for I-League, so they will hoping to avoid relegation and stabilise as a 2nd Div team.
Dark horses :
SAT Tirur : relatively unknown entity , but with local players , will be tough prospect in Manjeri to play against. Inexperience will cost them away from home
United SC : Have the experience of the same Foreign coach Steve Herbots* and some Santosh tTrophy winning players , will be a tough nut to crack.
Also rans
The 3 Manipuri teams will have to play away from HOME most likley , and that will hamper them, although the talented youngsters that they can tap into with the experienced Veterans will mean they can play spoil sport to any of the above teams
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