In ISL, extra time is now Ishan time
KOLKATA/GUWAHATI: Ishan Pandita’s four goals have all come between the 85th and the 96th minutes with FC Goa trailing. In his debut season in the Indian Super League (ISL), Pandita, 22, has been the super-sub who scored from his only shot in the game, against Hyderabad FC and ATK Mohun Bagan. Such opportunism explains why former Uruguay international Walter Pandiani took a shine to him in Spain’s lower division last season. Pandita, who has lived in New Delhi, Manila and Bengaluru, has been honing his skills in Spain since 2014.
Pandita’s four goals have come from just a total of 45 minutes spread over seven games. Yet, on a Zoom call from Goa, the Delhi-born forward of Kashmiri descent says he is not surprised. “I am a kid who believes in himself. But at the end of the day, it comes down to actually doing it on the field. Things have been clicking a little my way. I have been putting in the work, keeping my mouth shut and taking the minutes the coach has given me,” he said. There have been a few jokes in the dressing room about his late goals. “Extra time is now Ishan time”, “if you need a delivery, call Ishan,” he said. “But the most important thing is to enjoy them and keep working. We have an aim to make it to the playoff and from there to definitely to win the league.”
While Bagan and Mumbai City FC have qualified for the playoffs, the battle for the remaining two slots heated up with seven teams still in the fray. After Tuesday’s game, Goa are fifth on 24 points, two behind Northeast United FC.
Pandita has scored against Hyderabad, Bagan, Mumbai and Chennaiyin FC. “I guess all goals were a bit different. The one against Mumbai (in the 96th minute) was special; just the way it all happened, that amount of time and against that team with everything that happened last year and the drama behind it,” he said referring to former FC Goa coach Sergio Lobera joining Mumbai City along with a clutch of first-team regulars this season. “But the last goal (vs Chennaiyin in the 92nd minute) was a top finish and I think I would have to edge that up.”
It has been frustrating to not start games, he said. “But I am still very young and starting to get into my career. No one likes to sit on the bench. I am scoring and still not playing as much as I would like but you have got to put all those things aside. This is a team sport and we have got to do our own bit.”
He was 15 when he left Bengaluru for Spain. He spent the first few years at different teams across lower divisions and, after being eligible to sign for a club, joined Leganes U-19s. He last played for fourth-tier club Lorca where Pandiani was coach. “It was very hard. I remember, for the first week or 10 days, I would cry every day in my room. I was very homesick. It was a massive culture shock. It took a while to get used to the system. But eventually you grow up; you learn to do it the hard way,” he recalled.
“If it wasn’t for Covid, I would still be playing in Spain,” he said. He joined FC Goa on a year’s deal because “they play the most attractive football”. “The season they had last year was fantastic. That did play a huge part—all the signings, the coach and the management, it felt like I was coming back to a Spanish club. The AFC Champions League also helped me pick this club. And the coach Juan (Ferrando), I had a good talk with him,” said Pandita. Mug in hand and sitting straight, Pandita said the move to India has been a blessing in disguise. “It got the limelight on me. And who knows, if I put in another good performance, I could get the blue (India) jersey soon.”