A stellar show under the crossbar has led Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper Rehenesh TP win the Fans' Player of the Season 2020-21 award.
The 28-year-old Kerala-born shot-stopper was one of the best performers, not just for the club, but also in Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21. Rehenesh pipped clubmate Nigerian defender Stefen Eze to grab the honour.
Rehenesh won the award via an online poll conducted on Jamshedpur FC’s social media handles last week. Content with the accolade, Rehenesh shared a message directed to the fans.
"Thank you so much for selecting me as your Fans’ Player of the Season. I am really glad my performance meant a lot to you. Sending lots of love and once again thank you for choosing me. Hopefully, we’ll come back with an even better performance in the next season.”
The Jamshedpur custodian made a dominating presence in the goal for JFC and also competed in the race for the Golden Glove award alongside Arindam Bhattacharya (ATK Mohun Bagan) and Amrinder Singh (Mumbai City FC). With a miserly 89.11 minutes per goal conceded, Rehenesh closed the season on a strong note as he finished 3rd in the Golden Glove award race.
Rehenesh also dominated the clean sheet table with 8 clean sheets in the 19 games he appeared in for Jamshedpur FC, and finished 3rd again in the ‘most clean sheets’ list this season.
He registered some solid statistical figures in his first season at Jamshedpur FC too and established himself as a regular starter at the goal for the team.
In the 1693 minutes that he was on the field, he faced a total of 176 shots out of which 73 were on target. Out of the 73 shots on target, Rehenesh successfully managed to keep out 54 of those shots with a stunning save percentage of 73.97%. With an average of 1 goal conceded per game, Rehenesh conceded 19 goals in as many games he played.
Rehenesh made some notable and key saves during the season. His penalty save against NorthEast United was crucial in inflicting the Highlanders’ first defeat of the season. His saves against Mumbai City FC when Jamshedpur were a man down and against Bengaluru FC made for some of his exemplary performances during the season.
Delighted with the outstanding performance showcased by Rehenesh in his first season at Jamshedpur FC, some Red Miners (JFC official fan club) too had some words and thoughts to share on the goalkeeper being crowned as the fans’ champion.
“The season was young, the season was new, the season was filled with footballing action. While the team lacked consistency, Rehnesh was outstanding. Replacing the legend Subrata Paul in the team is not an easy task, but he made goalkeeping look so easy.. A true deserving achievement," said Rahul Mukherjee.
“Congratulations, TP! He totally deserves this award! Being a goalkeeper myself, I can understand how crucial it is to win these kinds of awards for a goalkeeper in competition with the other outfield players. He was phenomenal throughout the season and did his job very well. We are delighted to have him with us at Jamshedpur FC. We can't wait to see him guarding the Red Miners' goal next season,” said Imran Sheikh.
“When we signed him, many people were critical of his move to Jamshedpur FC. But with his solid performance, he proved all of them wrong and topped it up by winning the Fans’ Player of the Season award. What a remarkable achievement it is for him. We are proud of our Superman TP,” said Naman Sumit.
After a phenomenal debut season for Jamshedpur FC, Rehenesh will be aiming to bring the same consistency and form to the upcoming season, and with his quick reflexes, dives and dominating presence at the back, he will surely be one of the most anticipated players in the Men of Steel squad to look for on the field, for the fans.
Notably, Jamshedpur finished sixth in the cash-rich ISL.