With the addition of two more teams into the mix, the expectations are of course high for this year’s Indian super league. However, for a league that lasts up to five months, it must be entertaining. The fans demand enthralling matches boosted with the addition of several goals.
Be that as it may, things were not so intriguing as the season kicked off. The lack of goals surely raised criticism and it was affecting the complexion of the league. what was it going wrong? Well, the season just kicked off and it was too soon to give an appraisal.
Let’s look at the past, was this the same for first three seasons?
It wasn’t, the previous three seasons never saw a goal drought and was able to produce a number of goals even from the beginning. Take the last three inaugural matches of Indian super league. The 2014 inaugural season started off with a bang. The hosts Atletico de Kolkata thrashed Mumbai city FC 3-0 to give a flying start to this footballing revelation.
Yet again, it was Kolkata who kicked off 2015 season with style. The ISL 2014 champions scored thrice to beat Chennaiyin FC 3-2. The same goes for ISL 2016 season where we had a winner from the inaugural match. This time it was Northeast United who edged past the Kerala Blasters 1-0 to open the score sheet.
Indian Super League 2017
We had a winner on all three occasions. However, things were not the same this time around. Unlike the previous seasons, 2017-2018 Indian super league started off slow and it took three days to end the goal drought.
Anyhow, the third day witnessed a goal feast when FC Goa locked horns with Chennaiyin FC. The Goan side scored thrice to thrash Chennaiyin FC 3-2 in a game which produced the first goal of this season. With Bengaluru FC adding two more into the goal sheet, we were treated with seven goals at the end of day three.
The league is finally up and running
It certainly took time to light up, however, it proved the critics wrong with the number of goals in recent games. As the fifth match of the league ended with another goal feast, the fans are delighted with this footballing carnival. Indian super league is stepping up its game, and we can hope for more enthralling matches in coming days.
Is the number of foreigners affecting the game?
Well, this is a place where the league lured in both positives and negatives. By reducing the number of foreigners in the squads, Indian super league is clearly creating openings for the Indian players. However, it’s visible on the pitch how it affected the flow of the game.
We are witnessing the Indian players failing to step up on occasions, and this clearly alters the game. We should wait and see what the outcome will be. For a league on a quest to grow football in India, pleasing the fans expectations should be one of its main priority.
It’s too soon to give a judgment. The number of foreigners must come down, and the question is, is it a bit soon to reduce the numbers?
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