MEG snatch a point off Fortis
BANGALORE: Madras Engineers Group (MEG) played their heart out to grab a creditable 1-1 draw against fancied Fortis in the Ozonegroup State Super Division hockey league in Bangalore on Thursday.
Fortis, comprising quite a few internationals, clearly had the upper hand in the opening session but the Sappers, who made it to the second phase after topping the first phase, entertained with some swift counters in the second half. However, it was their defence led by AU Kariappa, often helped by the hard-working medios, which gave the young MEG outfit the respectable result against a strong opposition.
For Fortis, who are coached by Ashish Ballal, most of the offensive moves were confined to individual dribbling skills of forwards Mandeep Antil and Damandeep Singh. Fortis’ fortunes could have been different had drag-flicker Gurjinder Singh’s powerful penalty-corner shot found the target instead of the crossbar in the very second minute of action.
Their next penalty corner, executed by ace drag-flicker Diwakar Ram, was brilliantly saved by MEG custodian and skipper P Dhanesh even as Fortis failed to win another setpiece in the first half. Fortis had to wait till the 52nd minute for the lead when Navdeep Singh took advantage of a goalmouth melee and put the finish touches in style with an accurate reverse hit.
Despite the reversal, MEG stepped on the gas with four penalty corners in a span of six minutes. Drag-flicker Poovanna, MEG’s top scorer in the first phase of the league, finally tasted success with a direct attempt in their fourth and final penalty corner eight minutes from time.
Fortis dropped their first points after two successive victories while MEG have four points from as many outings.
Result: Fortis: 1 (Navdeep Singh 52nd) drew with MEG: 1 (Poovanna 62nd). Friday’s matches: IOCL vs ASC, 12.30 pm; Army Red vs MEG, 2.15pm; Army Green vs BPCL, 3.45pm.