The 22-year-old striker didn’t start even a single game in the Santosh Trophy 2022 but managed to win the top scorer of the championship award with seven scalps to his name.
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Kerala came back from a goal down to beat West Bengal 5-4 in the penalty shootout and win their seventh Santosh Trophy title at the Manjeri Payyanad Football stadium in Malappuram on Monday, May 2. It was a very dominant and professional team performance from the Southern state to clinch their first title at home since 1991, but one name stood out, and that is Jesin TK because of his record-breaking display. The 22-year-old striker came off the bench to score five goals in the 7-3 semi-final win over Karnataka. He didn’t start even a single game in the competition but managed to win the top scorer of the championship award with nine scalps to his name.
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5️⃣⭐ JESIN #santoshtrophy2022 #IndianFootball #keralafootball pic.twitter.com/WxMow8Pnxu
— Kerala Football Association (@keralafa) April 28, 2022
Jesin’s first goal of the tournament came in the 2-0 win against West Bengal in the group stage and the last one was in the penalty shootout victory against Bengal in the final . Despite delivering a stunning performance in the semi-final, head coach Bino George started him on the bench for the final and once again introduced the Nilambur-born striker after the half-hour mark, in place of Viknesh. Although he couldn’t get on the score-sheet he was impressive with his silky footwork and pace.
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On Thursday, against Karnataka, Bino George brought in Jesin at the 30th minute mark in place of Viknesh M. This moment marked the birth of a new football sensation from Kerala. The hosts were trailing 1-0 when the 22-year-old came in, and he equlaised in the 35th minute. Jesin timed his run to perfection to get on the end of Mohammed Rashid’s through ball and lifted the ball over the onrushing Karnataka goalkeeper Koshy and into the back of the net. Few moments later, the youngster capitalised on a defensive error by the Karnataka centre-back’s and toe-poked the ball past a helpless Koshy to give the lead to Kerala. And it got even better for the MES Mampad striker when Nijo Gilbert’s strike was saved by Koshy but Jesin was lurking in front of goal and reacted quickly to divert home the rebound. He completed his hat-trick in 15 minutes since coming onto the field.
Jesin’s fourth goal displayed his exceptional pace as he collected the ball on the half-way mark, got past one defender and raced forward to slot home from a one-on-one situation with the keeper. The Malappuram boy’s fifth goal arrived 16 minutes from time, it was once again a well built team goal as he timed his run very well to get on the end of Noufal’s through ball and put the ball inside the net. Jesin is now the new record holder for Kerala for the most number of goals scored in a game in the tournament. This was previously held by Asif Shaheer, who netted four goals against Bihar in the 1999 edition.
Born in a poor family in Nilambur in the district of Malappuram, Kerala, Jesin took to the beautiful game when he was eight. His father, who is an auto rickshaw driver, is a football fanatic like most of the Keralites, encouraged Jesin to Pursue his interest. Nizar himself was a sportsman during his college days but couldn’t make it big but his now fulfilling his dreams through his son. Jesin has all the attributes to be a successful goal-poacher as he is tall, has good ball control, can dribble past defenders with his pace and most importantly times his runs to good effect, which isn’t very common among Indian strikers. Being able to read the situation and anticipate things is the quality of a good striker and Jesin seems to have that.
