SURJIT HOCKEY- Namdhari XI enter semis, Beat ONGC 4-1 in a dominating performance

Kusum Arora

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 13

A spirited Namdhari XI entered the semifinals of the 28th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament after defeating Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) Dehradun by four goals to one at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here today.

Namdhari XI, in what was the last league match of Pool B, displayed amazing control and put on show some spirited hockey. They picked the game right from the word go and eventually their pace meant they dictated the game till the final whistle.

Namdhari XI took the lead in the 35th minute when Manjinder Singh, making no mistake, scored off a penalty corner (1-0). The half witnessed some good moves but the scoreline stayed the same as the eventual winners lead 1-0 till the lemon break.

In the second half, the Namdharis, inspired by a solid first half performance, came out all guns blazing and started to dominate the proceedings again.

They made constant attacking moves, trying to improve their lead, but it wasn’t until the 52nd minute when Sukhchain Singh scored a field goal to give them some breathing space.

In the 62nd minute of play, Gurpreet Singh also scored a field goal from a precise pass by Jasjeet Kular to put the Namdharis in complete control with the scoreline reading 3-0.

In the 66th minute Lakhwinder Singh scored another goal after dodging the goal keeper to add certainty to his team’s win.

In the dying minutes of the game ONGC’s repeated attempts to reduce the lead paid fruit when in the 69th minute Diwakar Ram converted a penalty corner to give his team a consolation goal as the match ended with a resounding 4-1 for Namdhari XI and a place in the semis too.