IOC hammer hapless ICF

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For the second match in a row a tenacious Punjab National Bank failed to press home the advantage despite having their much-vaunted opponents ONGC dancing to their tune in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the MRK Stadium on Sunday.

The holiday crowd got their money’s worth when they were treated to a high quality contest that eventually ended in an exhilarating 3-3 draw. Pitted against a stronger team, PNB showed no signs of nerves. ONGC however broke the deadlock in the 12th minute against the run of play when Preetinder Singh’s long-range shot ballooned up in the air and landed behind the on-rushing goal-keeper Jasbir Singh before trickling past the goal-line.

Unfazed by conceding the early goal, PNB continued to soldier on and it wasn’t long before their hard work paid dividends when Bruno H Logan cutting in from the left flank made a deft pass to an unmarked captain Ajitesh Roy, who completed the formalities by guiding the ball in. There was very little separating the two teams and at half-time the match was evenly poised with the score locked at 1-1.

Post-interval PNB upped their game by a few notches and drag-flicker Jitender Saroha put his team ahead in the 39th minute by thumping in a penalty corner. The second goal boosted their hopes of springing a surprise and in a rare act of brilliance centre-half Navdeep Singh burst forward from his own half weaving his way past four ONGC players before rounding the dumbfounded goal-keeper Dinesh Ekka in what would easily go down as the goal of the tournament thus far.

Trailing by two goals and with only 20 minutes for the hooter, ONGC had a lot of catching up to do. Forward Gurvinder Chandi reduced the deficit to a goal when he slotted in a rebound. There was still time for a few more twists and turns and in the 57th minute Diwakar Ram saved his team’s blushes by finding the crucial third goal which sent his team into raptures.

A glut of goals ensued in the second match between favourites IOC and ICF wherein IOC trounced ICF by a handsome margin of 15-3. The outcome itself was something of a foregone conclusion with IOC coming into the match on the back of an impressive 12-1 win against All India Customs in their opening fixture. Making optimum use of their rivals’ defensive frailties, IOC skipper Deepak Thakur continued his purple patch by bagging another hat-trick. In the floodlit match, BPCL were held to a 3-3 draw against Army XI.

Results ONGC 3 (Preetinder Singh, G. Chandi, Diwakar Ram) drew with PNB 3 (Ajitesh Roy, Jitender Saroha, Navdeep Singh), Army XI 3 (Sunil Ekka 2, Muthanna) drew with BPCL 3 (Amir Khan 3), IOC 15 bt ICF 3.

Today's Action ONGC vs Army XI (4 pm), PNB vs IOB (5. 45 pm).