Ranchi Rays blanks Uttar Pradesh Wizards 2-0

–Ranchi Rays climbs to third position to share equal points with Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the points table

Lucknow, 03 February 2015: Ranchi Rays eked out a laudable win of 2-0 against the home team Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the third edition of Hero Hockey India League 2015 at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow today. The win gave Ranchi Rays five points to take their tally to 14 points. They now share equal points with Uttar Pradesh Wizard in the pool standings.

Both the teams played attacking hockey from the first minute and tried to create chances in each other’s halves. While, Ranchi Rays went on with full enthusiasm and dominated the whole game, Uttar Pradesh Wizards failed to open their scoring account throughout the game.

The Ashley Jackson led Ranchi Rays had the first scoring chance when Trent Mitton had a fantastic strike-past against Sreejesh and pumped in a beautifully crafted field goal in the 13thminute of the game. Uttar Pradesh Wizards goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made some remarkable saves in the welcome stages of the game but the visiting team stood successful in finding the gap and put their ball in the net. By the end of the first quarter, Ranchi Rays had taken the early lead with a score of 1-0 on the board.

Both Ranchi Rays and Uttar Pradesh Wizards made some impressive forays but their efforts failed to materialize into goals. Consequently, the second half of the match saw a dry run as both the teams did a good job in defending and restricting each other from doing any damage, leaving the scoreboard to 1-0.

Moving towards the third quarter of the game, the teams continued to display brilliant stick skills, however it was Ranchi Rays that turned the match in their favour when Mandeep Singh surged ahead and scored a goal in 42nd minute through a field effort further advancing the lead to 2-0.

Both the teams made desperate efforts and tried to keep the possession of the ball not letting the other team to convert any scoring opportunities. As the time neared the end, neither of the teams was able to score. Ranchi Rays asserted a proud win and white-washed Uttar Pradesh Wizards by 2-0 at the home of Wizards in Lucknow.

Hero Goal of the Match– Trent Mitton (Ranchi Rays)

Man of the Match– PR Sreejesh (Uttar Pradesh Wizards)

Match on 4 February 2015
MATCH: Uttar Pradesh Wizards Vs Jaypee Punjab Warriors
TIME: 1500 Hrs IST
VENUE: Dhyan Chand Stadium,Lucknow
TELECAST: LIVE by Star Sports 2 Star Sports 3