Head start for Bombay in the Junior Nationals

The seventh Hockey India Junior National Championship which started today in two venues in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh, witnessed head start for Mumbai, which beat formidable Manipur 4-3 in an exciting early morning encounter.

At the historical Aisbagh Stadium, Bombay met Mnaipur after Odhissa defeated Bengal 6-2 in the opener.

Uncharacteristically, Manipur which had three National Hockey Academy trainees, was sedate in its approach. Capitalizing on the chances, Mumbai struck twice early on, first from the first penalty corner another from on the run forehand shot from Dilip in the 15th minute.

Ibungo in the 20th minute and Bhakar in the 51st minute helped the reorganized side to level (2-2). The match picked up pace here on, and the Manipurians were on ascend. They could break from both the wings while the Bombay team relied on midfield control and central attack.

As a result the last ten minutes saw three exciting goals.

First Devnor struck after tripped from goalie in an concerted attack, but the Bomaby team objected quoting back stick. Coach Mulla and Manager Solomon Alexander pulled the team out of play for awhile before calming down.

Shortly, Ibungo was apparently punched by a Mumbai player after managing to dispossess Ibungo’s attack on the right side of the circle.

Umpire Rajan Ekka flashed green cards to both Ibungo and Jersey No.2 of Bombay. Many players were seen pacifying the furious duo.

With the acrimony behind and with 3-2 score against them, the Mumbai teams have faced the stark reality missing out a dream opener. But Prince and Dilip Pal who scored the first goal for Mumbai had different ideas. Working on the right flank and using calibrated crosses first equalized in the 65th minute before Dilip Pal’s stunner came in the 67th minute.

Mumbai’s goalkeeper did a tremendous job in ensuring the exciting success.