ISL 2021-22: FC Goa’s Juan Ferrando confident Champions League hero Dheeraj Singh can rediscover mojo: It has been a tough start for Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem and FC Goa in this season’s Indian Super League. Although the Gaurs have shown some recovery with back to back wins against SC East Bengal and Bengaluru FC. They won a seven goal thriller 4-3 against the Red and Golds and scored the winner with a man down against the Blues. Follow all the Live Updates of ISL 2021-22 only on InsideSport.IN
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Head coach Juan Ferrando is hoping that his team will look to continue this winning run as they aim to at least finish in the playoffs spots. When the season was about to start, looking at FC Goa’s form not many people would have believed that they could lose their first three matches on the bounce. However, that is the reality and the fact is that the Gaurs have not been great defensively and the cohesion that naturally reflects on the field was missing in the first three matches.
Focus on progression , not perfection ! #RiseAgain #AFC #ChampionsLeague #FCGoaInAsia #IndianFootball #Gaur #ForcaGoa #Reel #InstaReel #DM1 pic.twitter.com/L4mSy8lkG3
— Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem (@dhee_singh01) May 6, 2021
Along with the backline, the highly-rated Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem has been below par in this current campaign. The young custodian who was their last line of defence in the AFC Champions League has failed to replicate that form in the ISL till now.
Dheeraj was so fantastic with his performances at the AFC Champions League that the young goalkeeper earned a place in the tournament’s team of the season. Despite Goa not qualifying for the knockouts, Dheeraj got the recognition and a place in the tournament’s official ‘Team of the Season’. The Manipuri youngster made a whopping 26 saves in five matches registering two clean sheets in Goa’s first-ever ACL campaign.
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Dheeraj Singh first came to the limelight when he featured for India U-17 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup which was held in Indian back in 2017. Although India lost all their matches, Dheeraj did enough to earn high plaudits. Another high in his career came when he went for a trial at Motherwell, a top tier team in the Scottish Premiership. The young goalkeeper impressed everyone in Scotland and they were ready to sign him on a four-year deal but due to a work permit and other issues, the deal did not go through.
Cleiton Silva's screamer of a free-kick features in our @theJSWgroup BFC Goals of the Game for #FCGBFC! 💥#WeAreBFC #ComeTogether pic.twitter.com/I4L7v5Q0aw
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) December 12, 2021
A goalkeeper who has achieved so much in such a short time, Dheeraj has been a shadow of himself in the ISL. In their recent game against Bengaluru FC, the 21-year-old conceded a horrible goal from a Cleiton Silva Silva freekick. The ball went in from a weird angle mainly because of Dheeraj’s poor positioning. The Manipuri custodian was more concerned in covering up the space ahead of Alan Costa in the box that he did not think of a direct hit from Cleiton.
A similar incident happened against SC East Bengal aswell. Dheeraj here was not sure whether to commit or not and eventually ended up conceding a cheap goal from a Amir Dervisevic freekick. The ball was delivered in a dangerous area by the Slovenian but had Dheeraj taken authority, it would have been easily cleared. But as he is low on confidence he did not take the call and it curled and crept in.
Despite his slump in form, Goa boss Juan Ferrando has shown great confidence in the youngster. “Today, one moment was difficult for Dheeraj, but we support him. I trust 100% in him – also in Naveen (Kumar) and Hrithik (Tiwari). For me, I am not worried about Dheeraj,” stated the Spanish tactician.
“He is 21 years old. He is a future keeper of the Indian national team. He will continue to have more chances and continue to work.”
A spell of off form is natural in a player’s life. But it will be fascinating to see how the 21-year-old fights his way past the recent slump to come back stronger. The Gaurs are looking to build on their winning momentum and they will need Dheeraj at his very best.
ISL 2021-22: FC Goa’s Juan Ferrando confident Champions League hero Dheeraj Singh can rediscover mojo
