Southern Railway ‘A’ bags title

Chennai: Southern Railway ‘A’ clinched the IOB-CHA Super Six hockey title here on Monday with a 3-1 win over Tamil Nadu Police in the final match of the league.

The win, Railways’ fourth in five matches, took it to 12 points, to pip Integral Coach Factory by two points. Indian Overseas Bank, tied on nine points with Police, finished third on goal difference.

It was Police that started the match with the greater sparkle, zipping the ball about with purpose and making regular incursions into the Railway ‘D’. Its forwards spurned a series of early chances, Satath Khan coming closest, failing by inches to connect with Sathiya Seelan’s cross from the right with the goal at his mercy.

These misses were to prove costly for Police, even though it wasn’t immediately apparent as it took the lead in the 19th minute, Satath Khan turning in Kannan’s fiercely slapped free hit from just outside the ‘D’.

Railway hit back in the very next minute, Magesh drilling home from just inside the right-hand side of the ‘D’, after latching on to a poorly-directed clearance from ’keeper Saravanakumar. A minute after that, it became 2-1, Mahendra Singh taking out a crowd of Police players with a mazy dribble before teeing up Praveen Kumar for an easy finish.

Magesh scored his second and Railway’s third in the 44th minute, receiving the ball in far more space than the Police defence should have allowed him, before beating Saravanakumar at the near post, the ball ricocheting in off the ’keeper’s foot.

Final standings (Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Points, Goal difference): 1. S. Railway ‘A’ (5, 4, 0, 1, 12, 4); 2. ICF (5, 3, 1, 1, 10, 4); 3. IOB (5, 3, 0, 2, 9, 3); 4. TN Police (5, 3, 0, 2, 1); 5. Indian Bank (5, 1, 0, 4, 3, -5); 6. SAI ‘A’ (5, 0, 1, 4, 1, -7).

Individual awards: Best goalkeeper: Saravanakumar (Police), Half-back: A. Raja (ICF), Forwards (shared): Sarath Babu (ICF), Iyappan and Albert (both IOB); Promising youngsters: Gopal Raju (Paramanu HC), David Arokiaraj (Police), Yuvaraj (Railway). — Sports Reporter