Bengaluru, November 30: Indian Arrows coach Luis Norton de Matos hailed youngster Aniket Jadhav, saying the winger's time on the bench has made him a better player.
Under-17 World Cupper Aniket Jadhav scored a brace in Indian Arrows' 3-0 win over Chennai City FC in their I-League match in Goa on Wednesday. The Kolhapur native was subsequently named Hero of the Match for his double. Boris Thangjam scored the third for Indian Arrows, the developmental squad of the All India Football Federation which comprises India U-17 and U-19 players.
Aniket Jadhav spearheaded the Indian Arrows attack tonight. #HeroILeague #ARWvCCFC pic.twitter.com/Imt9IlUCi9
— Hero I-League (@ILeagueOfficial) November 29, 2017
De Matos lauded Aniket's improvement and suggested that he was good with his off-the-ball movement. "When I was a player, the coaches used to push me sometimes to make me give my maximum," de Matos said. "He (Aniket) played in the No 9 position in the (U-17) World Cup with a lot of difficulty, but all the players have this difficulty. Now, he comes into the team for the collective effort and not just for the goals. All the invisible work that he puts in the game, he did it very well today and scored the two goals."
2-0! 58': Indian Arrows double their lead against @ChennaiCityFC after @aniketjadhav09 slots the pull-back pass from Edmund Lalrindika. The young lads from India U-17 and U-19 sides are justifying their place in the @ILeagueOfficial #Ileague #HeroILeague #ARWvCCFC #IndianFootball
— myKhel.com (@mykhelcom) November 29, 2017
Aniket rose to fame in the recently-concluded Under-17 World Cup playing in the wing. He played the opening match against the US and the third fixture against Ghana. He was brought on as a substitute in the second match against Colombia.
Following the tournament however, coach de Matos omitted him from the squad for the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifying Round in Saudi Arabia. Some reports suggested Aniket was recovering from an injury. De Matos claimed he omitted Aniket as he was not happy with the player's development and wanted the forward to regain his sharpness.
"I know the relationship I have with my players and I know how I want them to give their maximum," de Matos said. "Sometimes I need to push a player to play how I want to play collectively. That's why he was not in Saudi Arabia with us. But I told Aniket that he will be with us for the I-League."
And Aniket Jadhav does it again! Not as amazing as the 1st goal, but a fine finish!
— Anubhav Roda (@anubhav_roda) November 29, 2017
Would have loved to see more of him at the #FIFAU17WC!!
Now hoping @indianarrows dont do an @eastbengalfc !!@ILeagueOfficial #HeroILeague #ARWvCCFC @IndianFootball
Weeks later, Aniket appears to be strong as ever in the I-League. Coach de Matos could not be happier.