Hockey: Marines down Badshahs
By Mihir Vasavda
Lessons learnt from the previous night and amendments made to the game, Mumbai Marines registered their first win of the World Series Hockey defeating Bhopal Badshahs 1-0 at the Mahindra Stadium here on Friday night.
Coming into the match after a demoralising 5-7 defeat at the hands of Pune Strykers, Mumbai looked a well-organised unit, especially at the back. The only goal of the match came in the 2th minute through Mumbai’s Australian import Troy Sutherland. Air India forward Joga Singh collected the ball from the midfield and passed it to Sutherland, who used his strength to bulldoze his way past two defenders, pick his spot and unleash a unstoppable hit to find the bottom corner.
Knowing the exploits of their defence on the previous night, Mumbai looked to widen the gap and give themselves some breathing space. The combination of Joga, Aijub Ekka, Hari Prasad, Devender Walmiki worked well for them and youngster Shanyl Balwanth too made a good impression. They managed to create a few good opportunities, but were undone by some poor finishing.
Lack of quality up front was also the main reason why Bhopal never managed to find the equaliser, despite enjoying some good spells of possession. Bhopal came into the match after pulling off an upset win over Chandigarh Comets in the opening match on Wednesday. However, their strikers gave Mumbai defenders that extra second to recover every time they found themselves in a spot.
The hosts will also take a lot of heart from the way they defended. South Africa’s Clyde Abrahams and Ajmer Singh, who plays for Air India on the domestic circuit, did not make too many errors. Skipper Adrian D’Souza, too, was rock-solid under the bars. After conceding seven goals the previous night, the India international gave a good account of himself, yelling instructions to his men and also showing good, quick reflexes. But his most important save came in the very last minute, when he made a decent save from a Sameer Dad drag-flick.
Earlier, hosts Delhi Wizards defeated Karnataka Lions 3-2. Wizards scored a goal each in the first three quarters through Vikramjeet Singh (2nd), Shakeel Abbasi (19th) and Rajpal Singh (51st). Dhanraj Pillay (36th) and Ravipal Singh (48th) scored for the Lions.