Marcelinho scored the 50th goal of Hero Indian Super League 2016 after his brilliant solo goal against FC Goa helped Delhi Dynamos FC to a 2-0 win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Sunday evening. The 50-goal barrier was breached on Matchday 27 this year, whereas Hero ISL 2014 and Hero ISL 2015 saw 61 and 71 goals at the same stage. Clearly, defensive forces are at work this season. Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters FC have the distinction of scoring the fastest goals in both halves this season with Cedric Hengbart netting in the third minute for the Blasters against FC Pune City, while Mohammed Rafi scored the fastest goal in the second period against FC Goa netting soon after the restart. Here’s the lowdown on the first 51 strikes of the season.Lions roar in front of goalDelhi Dynamos have been the most prolific scorers this season with 10 goals from their opening seven matches. The Lions, in fact, are the only team to score two goals or more in three matches this season. Their defensive record that has seen them concede seven times this year is also the second most after rock-bottom FC Goa, who have seen their net ripple on 11 occasions so far in their seven matches.Marvellous MarcelinhoDelhi’s talisman and the man of Hero ISL 2016 so far, Marcelinho has been in devastating form for the Lions having played a direct role in eight of Delhi’s 10 goals this season. The Brazilian winger has scored four goals and provided four assists for the Dynamos this year or in other words: he has scored as many times as Kerala Blasters FC and been involved in more goals than the rest of the teams barring Atlético de Kolkata, who have scored as many goals (8) as Marcelinho has been involved in.Long-rangersOf 51 goals scored so far this season, 21 have come from outside the area. Some teams have even scored more goals from outside the box than they have inside the box. ATK and Pune have both scored four times from outside the penalty area as opposed to their two and one goal from inside the box respectively. Reigning champions Chennaiyin FC have an even bigger gulf in terms of goals scored from inside and outside the box. Of their seven strikes from open play this season, only one has come from inside the 18-yard box with the remaining six all coming from range.South American supremacySouth American players have had the biggest say as far as goal return is concerned. That’s not surprising, considering that the past two season have seen Elano (Brazil) and Stiven Mendoza (Colombia) finish as the top marksmen in the league. This year, however, has seen the South Americans collectively net 16 of 51 goals scored so far with Uruguay’s Emiliano Alfaro, who is also the top-scorer in the league with five goals, leading the way. They have also collectively accounted for 11 assists, thereby further highlighting their dominance having directly played a role in more than 50% of the goals scored thus far.
