Chennai: A fortuitous goal from Suresh gave Southern Railway ‘A’ a 1-0 win over Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in the IOB-CHA Super Six Premier League hockey championship here on Saturday.
Latching on to a long pass from midfielder Mahendra Singh via a botched interception from ICF keeper Barani Raja, Suresh poked into an open net in the 55th minute.
At the other end of the field, the striker’s namesake N. Suresh did a commendable job guarding the Southern Railway goal, pulling off a series of second-half saves from a barrage of ICF penalty corners.
The match ended dramatically, with ICF winning another short corner to the accompaniment of the hooter’s wail, only for Suresh to once again deny an equaliser, scrambling to parry skipper Pal Pandian’s low, hard drive.
Earlier, goals from Kannan (33’ penalty corner) and Sudharsan (40’) helped Tamil Nadu Police record a 2-1 comeback win over IOB, which had gone ahead in the 9th minute through Vinod Rayar.