ISL 2018-19: ATK 1-2 Bengaluru FC – 5 Talking Points

#5 Thatal: A promising talent who should be given extra care

Komal

Thatal

scored a fantastic goal against Bengaluru FC [Image: ISL]

Komal Thatal has impressed in the last few games and earned praise from the coach. Everybody in the team knew the moment would come soon but nobody thought it will come against Bengaluru FC.

Thatal got a defence-splitting pass from Everton Santos and made it count with a superb left-footed finish. This was the first ISL goal for the youngster. Also unofficially, he became the youngest scorer in the league’s history with an age of 18 years, 1 month and 13 days. He took another scorcher in the 55th minute which missed the target only by a few centimetres.

Even after the match, people talked about that lethal finish from Thatal. It’s hard to believe that this is the same guy, who was benched in the second match of Under-17 World Cup twelve months ago, despite showing his impressive skills in the opener. He was not selected in the Indian Arrows’ squad for the I-League simply because the then coach Luis Norton de Matos didn’t want him to be a part of the team.

But if you have skills and ability, nobody can stop you. That’s what happened with Thatal when he was picked by ATK. Coppell is so impressed with him that he started featuring the boy regularly in his starting line-up. And finally, the trust paid off.

Now, as a promising youngster, Thatal should be taken care of by the team management. One should regularly look at his work rate and must stop before being burnt-out.