Hero ISL 2017-18 completes a century of goals
The 2017-18 season of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) is off to a roaring start, with almost two months of entertaining action breaking and paving the path for newer milestones and records.


The 2017-18 season of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) is off to a roaring start, with almost two months of entertaining action breaking and paving the path for newer milestones and records. The league has already seen its fair share of new superstars, homegrown heroes and new teams making a mark in the hearts of the umpteen fans spread nationwide. Recently, it also covered another milestone by traversing the 100th goal landmark in match 38, the fastest till date in Hero ISL’s history.
The feat came in the 38th match of the season played between Kerala Blasters FC and FC Pune City, which eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. Blaster’s forward Mark Sifneos rung in the milestone with his equaliser for the home team in the 73rd minute. Keziron Kizito and Pekuson teamed up to set up an onrushing Sifneos who finished the move with a perfect shot in the bottom left corner. As the passionate Kochi crowd erupted in a sea of yellow, Hero ISL 2017-18 saw another feather added to its resplendent crown.

Now, we take a look at the other milestones covered in the journey to the season’s 100th goal starting from the very first.
Goal 1: The account opens
After two stalemates in the season’s first two encounters, India basked in Hero ISL 2017-18’s first goal when the league’s current top-scorer Ferran Corominas found the back of the net for FC Goa against Chennaiyin FC. The season’s third game ended 3-2 in the favour of the Gaurs. Brandon Fernandes sent in a defence-splitting pass which Corominas picked up brilliantly to smash the bottom left corner of the net with his shot, though it was met with a slight deflection on its way.
Goal 25: Silver jubilee crossed
A flurry of goals entertained the fans after Corominas’ opener because, just seven games down the line, the 25th mark was breached by Bengaluru FC’s Erik Paartalu. In the 4-1 win of the league debutants over Delhi Dynamos FC, Paartalu scored the night’s second goal after lodging in the opener as well. Paartalu used his height to optimum use as he got to the end of Edu Garcia’s corner kick and placed it perfectly into the net from the near post.
Goal 50: And that’s a Half-century
The half-century, also, has the name of a Bengaluru FC star on it - Miku. In match 19, host NorthEast United FC were downed by Miku’s sole goal for the Blues as they won 1-0, thanks to Highlanders’ custodian TP Rehenesh’s glaring mistake. After a back-pass from a teammate, Rehenesh instead of clearing, passed the ball inaccurately to Jose Goncalves, who was beaten by a lurking Udanta Singh. The latter set up Miku in the middle, who had plenty of time to hold and slot the ball to the bottom left corner.
Goal 75: On the verge of a century
The season’s 28th match saw the 75th goal mark being overtaken by India’s very own Balwant Singh for Mumbai City FC. The Islanders handed NorthEast United FC a 2-0 home loss, thanks to Balwant’s brace. It was his opener in the 34th minute, which was however, the special one. Even this was due to Highlander’s custodian Ravi Kumar’s mistake. Kumar rushed out to intercept the ball which his defenders were in a position to tackle, and Balwant spotting the keeper off his line, stroked the ball through his feet to open the scoring.