Hero I-League flooded with goals at the end of Gameweek 3 & 4
Gameweek 3 of the Hero I-League saw Royal Wahingdoh FC maintain first position with a third consecutive win as they beat Bharat FC.
Gameweek 3 of the Hero I-League saw Royal Wahingdoh FC maintain first position with a third consecutive win as they beat Bharat FC. However, by the end of the following gameweek, they had relinquished their spot to Pune FC, who climbed to the top of the table thanks to a win over derby rivals Mumbai FC.
Of the five matches in an entertaining Gameweek 3, only one ended in a draw, with the other four seeing one side claim victory. There were a couple of high-scoring games, with Dempo beating Sporting Clube de Goa 3-0 and Pune FC beating Shillong Lajong 5-2. The latter match stood out for Indian youngster Thongkhosiem Haokip’s hat-trick, the fastest of the season, with his three goals coming in just fifteen minutes. Durga Boro (NorthEast United FC) was on the losing end of that game, but he netted a stunning long-range strike for Shillong Lajong. Elsewhere in the league, Dempo brushed aside local rivals Sporting Clube de Goa with Lenny Rodrigues (FC Pune City), Alwyn George (FC Goa) and Francis Fernandes (Delhi Dynamos FC) scoring for the home team. Meanwhile, defending champions Bengaluru FC’s struggling start to the season continued, as they again failed to register their first win of the season.
Gameweek 4 saw a shift in the top of the table with Pune FC climbing to the top with 10 points. Pune beat state rivals Mumbai 3-2 as they kept their goal scoring form going. Mohammed Rafi (Atlético de Kolkata) scored for Mumbai FC but his side could not do enough to beat Pune. Bengaluru FC got their first win of the season as they thrashed former league toppers Royal Wahingdoh. Salgoacar also registered their first win of the season as they beat Sporting Clube de Goa 2-0. Subrata Paul (Mumbai City FC) made a number of great saves to deny Sporting a chance to come back into the game and preserve Salgaocar’s victory after they had taken an early lead. Elsewhere in the league, Ranti Martins (FC Goa) was on top of his game as his brace edged East Bengal past Shillong Lajong, whose solitary goal was scored by Cornell Glen (NorthEast United FC).
