The I-League is in full flow and this season has plenty to offer for fans of Indian football. A Kolkata derby has been played, finishing 1-0 to Mohun Bagan and defending champions Aizawl showed their fighting spirit against East Bengal, snatching a 2-2 draw.
Minerva Punjab have also started in fine fashion, winning two of their matches and drawing another. The Indian Arrows started with a 3-0 win over Chennai City FC but succumbed to a 2-0 loss to Minerva in their second game.
Here’s a look at key statistics from this season so far.
Arrows organised against Chennai City, but unstuck against Minerva
Comparing the average position of the Indian Arrows against Minerva and Chennai, one can easily see that they were compact against the southern side, but were severely disorganised against the Punjabis.
CCFC got it totally wrong, opting to play a high line while playing at a slower pace and succumbed to counter-attacking play by Aniket Jadhav and co. Against a faster team in Minerva, Jadhav was completely isolated as shown by the average positions and none of Suresh Singh Wangjam, Edmund Lalrindika and Rahul KP got close to supporting him.
Additionally, the two central defenders dropped deep as full-backs Sanjeev Stalin and Boris Thangjam occupied positions close to the half-line. Be it a case of lost composure or failed tactics, this is one area that Luis Norton de Matos prides himself on and will have to sort out.
Young left-backs impress
Tontonba Singh of Neroca, Minerva’s Abhishek Ambekar and Indian Arrows’ Sanjeev Stalin have been some of the steadiest performers in the league this season. Ambekar ranked first for passes made, successful challengers and interceptions against Neroca while also assisting Lago Bei’s goal.
Chencho Gyeltshen was awarded the man of the match but Ambekar’s composure and tackling ability down the wing should had not gone unnoticed. His opposite number Tontonba also lead his team in the same parameters as dangerman Gyeltshen was kept quiet till he changed flanks.
Sanjeev Stalin was also quietly effective in his two games, making more passes than any team-mate barring Amarjit Kiyam. The young left-back has averaged 46.5 passes per game, ranking second only to Kiyam.
Bagan’s spine responsible for derby victory
Between them, Kingsley Obumneme and Yuta Kinowaki may have won Mohun Bagan the Kolkata derby, not least due to the former’s headed winner for the Mariners.
Obumneme, ex-Aizawl defender, came up trumps against his former manager and several of his teammates from last season’s title-winning team, as he put in a solid shift at the back, making 20 challenges, more than anyone else.
Kinowaki and the central defender made 13 successful tackles between the two of them, as Mahmoud Al-Amna and Katsumi Yusa were forced to drop deep in an attempt to try and kick-start attacks.
Infact, Yusa’s average position hovered around the half-line behind five of his other team-mates as he was unable to effective link up with the rest of his teammates in red and gold. Five EB players also registered a higher passing accuracy than Al-Amna as the Syrian playmaker was effectively shut out.
Shillong Lajong and Amarjit Kiyam are the pass-masters
The young Shillong Lajong team started well, winning two in succession before succumbing to a heavy defeat against East Bengal but the style of previous season still continues to reflect in their philosophy, as they average 360 passes completed per game, higher than any other team.
Only Mohun Bagan (356) come place while Neroca (342) and the Indian Arrows (325) don’t do shabbily in this aspect. East Bengal average 309 passes per game, but boast the highest passing accuracy of 85.2 per cent.
Minerva Punjab rank bottom for both passes completed (216) and accuracy (69.5%) but this approach has paid off for them, as the table clearly reflects. Their approach of moving the ball quickly has worked, with the Bhutanese forward Chencho as their main outlet.
In the individual stakes, there is a clear winner. Amarjit Kiyam has been central to anything his team does, and was absolutely massive in his team’s 3-0 win against Chennai City in their opening game. He completed 64 of 67 passes against CCFC, registering an accuracy higher than 95 per cent. Kiyam also completes 10 more passes per game than his nearest rivals.
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