I-League 2018-19: 3 reasons why East Bengal won against Gokulam Kerala FC

#3 Jobby shines amid improved team performance

Justin has improved his performances

Football fans should question Indian coach Stephen Constantine why he’s not calling up Jobby Justin in the national camp before an international match.

After all, Justin has improved his performance so much that it is almost a crime not to give the talented youngster a proper opportunity.

A player from Kerala, who is making his a name for himself in Kolkata is not something new. Before Justin, I M Vijayan, Raman Vijayan and even Gokulam Kerala FC coach Bino George are among so many who plied their trade in Kolkata.

Justin is the only Indian to be in the I-League top scorers’ list and on Saturday, he added one more.

During 14th minute, Lalrindika Ralte floated a pass behind Gokulam’s defence and Justin sped past Gokulam player Mudde Musa to receive the ball. He had only goalkeeper to beat and the Keralite made no mistake.

He also contributed during the first goal when his intelligent pass from the edge of the box was shot straight to the goal by Vanlalremdika.

He also chested down a brilliant ball for Enrique Esqueda who shot was just wide off the target.

Justin could’ve added one more in the second half when once again he had the goalkeeper to beat. Instead, he passed it to Vidayasagar Singh, who wasted the chance.

Justin’s performance was well enough to earn him a national call-up when India face Oman and Syria in friendly matches later this month.

“There is no special feeling for scoring against a team of my native state. I just worked on my game and that helped. It was my dream to score in Salt Lake stadium and I am happy to achieve it,” Justin said after the match.

Apart from Justin, East Bengal’s much-improved performance also helped them to secure three points. Three courageous changes from East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez tilted the fortune in the club’s favour.

Johnny Acosta, who was lacking confidence in the last two matches, was replaced by India international Salam Ranjan Singh in the centre-back position. Another good change was the inclusion of Lalmadanmawia Ralte -- who was nursing an injury – in place of Yami Longvah.

Both Salam and Laldanmawia played well throughout the match. Salam was rock-solid on a day when Borja made some mistakes. The left-wing run, which was missing from the earlier matches, was back again.

Goalkeeper Rakshit Dagar was also brought back in the side. But after Ubaid, Rakshit too didn’t look solid under the bar his miscommunication from Borja led to the first goal. He missed an easy catch too in the second half, which led to a corner.