ISL 2018: FC Goa sign goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte from Bengaluru FC
What's the story?
FC Goa have added 25-year-old goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte to their roster for the upcoming Indian Super League season. Ralte played second-fiddle to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu at Bengaluru FC and has since completed a move to their ISL rivals.
In case you didn't know...
The Mizoram-born goalkeeper played his early career at Shillong Lajong FC. Ralte went on to make over forty appearances for the Meghalaya-based side before finally moving on to Bengaluru FC, and then FC Goa.
The heart of the matter
FC Goa announced, via Twitter, that they have completed the signing of Lalthuammawia Ralte from Bengaluru FC. The goalkeeper joins FC Goa on a free transfer after a season with Bengaluru FC, where he played as the understudy of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Ralte joined Bengaluru FC in 2014 when the side was still playing in the I-League. In his debut season, Ralte made twenty appearances for the Blues and helped them win the I-League title.
However, he soon fell out of favour and was sent out on a loan to North East United FC. Things didn't get better for the youngster as Sandhu's arrival pushed him further down the pecking order.
Last season, it was Gurpreet, who got most of the starts in the ISL, while Ralte got some starts in the AFC Cup.
With this, the 25-year-old becomes FC Goa's fourth signing before the upcoming 2018-19 Indian Super League season after Lenny Rodrigues, Jackichand Singh, and Nirmal Chhetri.
What's next?
FC Goa enjoyed a decent campaign last time around but could only manage to finish third in the league stage. The Goan side would then go on to lose the semi-final against eventual champions Chhenaiyin.
Goal-scoring was not a problem for FC Goa last time around as they bagged a league-high of forty-two goals. However, their defence was not at their very best, eventually conceding twenty-eight goals in eighteen matches. Their numero uno goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani also came under a lot of criticism for a few howlers.
FC Goa will hope that their latest signing helps them fix some key issues and make them stronger ahead of the 2018-19 ISL campaign.
Do you think Lalthuammawia will prove to be a good signing for last year's semi-finalists FC Goa? Do let us know in the comments below.