RCF, Mumbai beat Bombay Gymkhana President’s XI 4-1

Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF), Mumbai, powered by Shivakumar’s brace overcame hosts Bombay Gymkhana President’s XI 4-1 in a first round match of the Aga Khan hockey tournament at the Bombay Gymkhana ground on Monday.

The home team comprising former Indian stars like Viren Rasquinha, Darryl D’Souza, Edgar Mascarenhas Sr, Devinder Kumar and goalkeeper Edgar Mascarenhas Jr, put up a decent fight but were unable to keep pace and match their rivals.

However, Bombay Gym’s goalkeeper Mascarenhas’s heroics helped in restricting RCF to just four goals. He repeatedly produced some timely saves to deny the rival attackers from finding the target and was aptly adjudged the Man of the Match.

RCF got their first breakthrough in the 12th minute through Shivakumar. He struck again in the 30th minute to give RCF a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Bombay Gym managed to pull one back in the 46th minute when Devinder Kumar sounded the boards from the left. However, RCF scored two goals in nine minutes to take the game away from the hosts.

In another first round match, Karnataka XI defeated Indian Customs 2-0 to progress to the next round. It was a lop-sided affair for most part of the game with Karnataka getting the better of Customs time and again. They were dominant in possession and attacked from the very beginning to restrict the game to their half.

Customs missed many open chances in the first 35 minutes and failed to match the pace of the Karnataka players. After a goalless first half, the southern outfit intensified their aggression in the latter half and their hard work paid off. Bipin ran through the defence of Customs and struck the ball into the post with a solid hit from the right. Six minutes later, he struck again from close quarters to double the lead.

Karnataka could have won by a higher margin but they failed to convert four back to back penalty corners. Customs started to attack only in the last ten minutes of the game and were also successful in getting three penalty corners. But yet again, their strikers could not break past the opposition’s defence. Karnataka definitely looked the fitter of the two sides and defended well till the last whistle to take home the game.

Customs skipper Rahul Singh said that it was their missed chances that cost them the game. “We should have taken the lead in the first half but we let go of too many opportunities. They were undoubtedly more fit than us. I also pulled my muscle, so I could not contribute much,” he said.

“It was a very good ground to play on. One half was as good as any turf while the other half is 60-70 per cent good. I am happy that some kind of domestic tournament is finally taking place in the country and I hope it takes place on a regular basis,” he added.