Holder Army XI put down a determined Namdhari XI 4-2 while former winner IOC made heavy weather of the local challenge from Southern Railway but managed to take full points with a 4-0 win in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament here on Friday.
Featuring a pack of internationals, including the heroic Baljit Singh in the goal for a brief spell — the goalkeeper is recovering after undergoing treatment in the US for a serious eye injury sustained last year — the IOC squad was painfully laborious. Even the usually elegant Prabhjot and Deepak Thakur were below par.
Even the few incisive moves that Inderjit Chadha fashioned with Vickram Kanth and Mujtaba were met with stiff resistance. The local defenders, with goalkeeper M.G. Suresh making a handful of good saves, kept IOC down to just a 1-0 lead going into the second half.
Yuvaraj was another prominent player in the defence, bringing off a fine goal-line save to thwart Deepak Thakur.
In the first half, IOC failed to make further impact after the early goal — off a drag flick by Raghunath. After that, he was held off by Suresh who had support from Gouthaman.
Early in the second half, Deepak Thakur scored after piercing through the defensive wall. Midway through the session came the third from Chadha, easily the most hard-working of the IOC players. Raghunath netted the fourth goal.
Southern Railway, the local league champion, made few moves to cause anxiety to the rival defenders. Jayaraj stood out with his valiant efforts to break through but he was like one swallow attempting to make a summer. It was hard labour for Army to overcome the challenge offered by the Namdhari XI. This was expected given the forthright approach that is part and parcel of the Namdhari side.
Within minutes, the Namdharis stunned the Armymen with a goal. A perfect penalty corner paved the way for a lively duel, which saw the sides locked 2-2 at half-time.
The Army players were a wee bit slow to settle down. There were known faces like Sunil Ekka, S.V. Sunil and goalkeeper P.T. Rao in the squad but the side had to stretch to smother the pressure exerted by the rival. Mention must be made of a splendid save effected by Rao off a smashing shot from Gurmail Singh, whose wing play was decidedly eye-catching.
Army neutralised the Harpreet Singh goal with a similar fashion penalty corner conversion — by Reneil Singh off a flick by Xalco. Another effort by Sunil Ekka put the Army squad ahead but a penalty stroke taken by Harpreet Singh — after a withering shot by Gurmit Singh hit a defender in front of the goal — saw Namdhari XI pull level.
After the break, the teams fought with all the intensity they could summon. A brilliant back-hander by Eliazar Lakra symbolised the ascendancy of the Army team and Sunil settled the issue with a fluent finish from the top of the circle to give the Army team's victory a veneer of comfort.
The results: Army XI 4 (Reneil Singh, Sunil Ekka, Eliazar Lakra, S.V. Sunil) bt Namdhari XI 2 (Harpreet Singh 2); IOC 4 (V. Raghunath 2, Deepak Thakur, Inderjit Chadha) bt Southern Railway 0.
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