PHL 2007: Fifth Day, the 8th Jan 2007.
Match No.8. (Marata Warriors Vs Chandigarh Dynamos)
Warriors edge past Dynamos
Chennai, Jan 8: Maratha Warriors prevailed 5-4 over Chandigarh Dynamos in the tie-breaker of a long-drawn encounter in the Premier Hockey League at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Monday. Bharat Kumar had put the Warriors in the lead in the 23 rd minute, before Ravipal Singh brought parity for the Dynamos in the 55th. The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation time, and even the 15 minutes of extra time could produce no result.
The match thus had to be decided through the tie-breaker – under the special rules of the PHL, the penalty-taker is on a one-on-one with the goal-keeper and has eight seconds to score after making his run from the 25-yard line. The first five strokes for either side could not break the deadlock, with the scores tied 3-3 (1-1), and after the match went into the ‘Sudden Death’, the Warriors’ Sandip Antil ensured a victory for his side with a reverse hit past custodian Baljit Singh.
The Warriors will have to thank Adrian D’Souza for helping them scrape out the victory, for the India goal-keeper kept them in the game despite the defence being overrun several times. Within the first quarter Adrian had saved the goal thrice, keeping out the reverse hits of the speedy Prabhjot Singh and a rasping drive from Dutchman Bomans Balder. Eventually, when the game went into the shootout, Adrian again saved Prabhjot’s attempt off the fifth penalty to keep the game alive for the Warriors.
It was the Dynamos who dominated the early proceedings, and it came much against the run of play when the Warriors struck through Bharat Kumar. The Dynamos retaliated, and nearly got the equaliser when Prabhjot opened up the defence with an immaculate cross from the left, but fellow-striker Rajpal Singh failed to trap the ball with an open goal in front.
But the Dynamos could not be denied for long. Having thrown their players upfront, they breached the Warriors’ defence in the 55 th minute. Rajpal took a crack at the goal, but Adrian saved and the ball came to Ravipal Singh, who nailed the equaliser.
Thereafter the Dynamos continued to harass the Warriors’ defence, with Prabhjot coming close again in the 67th minute, but could not get past Adrian. At the other end, the Warriors, inspired by the wily Viren Rasquinha in central midfield, could only make the odd foray. Shivendra Singh, however, was quite a handful on the left flank, and left his markers way behind as he made one darting run after another.
What eventually made the difference in the shootout was that Jugraj Singh, who took the first attempt for the Dynamos, tried to scoop the ball over Adrian but missed the goal. On the third penalty of the ‘Sudden Death’, Jugraj again tried the scoop – and missed! It was finally up to Sandip Antil, who dribbled briefly before burying the ball in the net with a reverse hit.
(Warriors: Bharat Kumar, 23rd minute; Dynamos: Ravipal Singh 55th minute)
Tie-break:,br>
1. Warriors 1-0 (Shivendra Singh) Dynamos 0-1 (Jugraj Singh)
2. Warriors 1-0 (Bharat Kumar) Dynamos 1-1 (Rajpal Singh)
3. Warriors 2-1 (Sandip Antil) Dynamos 2-2 (Navdeep Singh)
4. Warriors 2-2 (Gurbaj Singh) Dynamos 3-2 (Sher Singh)
5. Warriors 3-3 (Dhananjay) Dynamos 3-3 (Prabhjot)
Sudden Death
Dynamos 3-3 (Rajpal Singh) Warriors 3-3 (Shivendra Singh)
Dynamos 3-3 (Navdeep Singh) Warriors 3-3 (Dhananjay)
Dynamos 3-3 (Jugraj Singh) Warriors 4-3 (Sandeep Antil)
Penalty Corners
Dynamos: 85th, 86th
Warriors: 3rd, 36th, 77th, 80th
PHL 2007: Fifth Day, the 8th Jan 2007.
Match No.9. (Sher-e-Jalandhar Vs Bangalore Lions)
Shers thrash Lions; Warriors edge past Dynamos
Chennai, Jan 8: Sher-E-Jalandhar snowed Bangalore Lions under an avalanche of goals in the Premier Hockey League at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Monday, with Gagan Ajit Singh doing most of the damage in the 7-1 rout. Earlier, Maratha Warriors prevailed 5-4 over Chandigarh Dynamos in the tie-breaker of a long-drawn encounter. Bharat Kumar had put the Warriors in the lead in the 23 rd minute, before Ravipal Singh brought parity for the Dynamos in the 55th. The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation time, and even the 15 minutes of extra time could produce no result.
Gagan was unstoppable on Monday, reducing the Lions’ defence to rags as he darted in unchallenged time and again. The deluge started in the 8 th minute with a Gagan reverse hit. Two minutes later the star forward combined with Dutchman Don Prins, opened up the defence, and set it up for Jarnail Singh, who made no mistake.
There was a lull for a while