Central Railway kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the final with a meticulous 5-3 win against Central Secretariat in their concluding Super Division match of the MHAL (Mumbai Hockey Association Limited) League – 2016, and played at the MHAL Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate, on Monday evening. For the Railway outfit Mohd. Nizamuddin scored three goals while Narad Bahadur and Deepak Lakra got one apiece. Secretariat scored through Nilesh K., Chetan Somanna and Felix Ba.
Central Railway’s ace forward Mohd Nizamuddin (2nd left), who scored a hat-trick, receives the ‘Man of the match’ award from MHAL President, Mangha Singh Bakshi (2nd right), Hon. Secretary Ram Singh Rathor (left), and Hon. Vice-President Gurdip Singh Chandok.
The railwaymen, with 12 points (+9 goal difference) from this their fourth win, have climbed to the second position behind leader Indian Navy (14 points) in the 7-team standings. Western Railway (11 points and +4 goal difference) face a must win situation when they take on Central Secretariat (7 points) in the concluding league game on Wednesday.
Secretariat started in a rousing fashion and from a swift move down the right Jayesh Jadhav sent the ball across for Hemant Ghete who in turn relayed the ball towards Nilesh K. who slammed home in a flash in the very second minute. The railwaymen came under more pressure and survived a couple of close calls before they managed to draw level when fought Nizamuddin trapped Victo Singh’s forward pass an deftly slotted home from close in the 25th minute.
Later, Central Railway custodian Avaduth Solankar came to the rescue of his team when showed excellent reflexes to block P.L. Thimanna’s penalty stroke a couple of minutes from the half-time hooter.
After the change of ends, Central scored two quick goals through Bahadur (48th minute) and Nizamuddin (49th) to take control of the proceedings and open up a 3-1 lead. Secretariat managed to reduce the deficit when Somanna found the net in the 54th minute but the railwaymen struck two more goals in as many minutes through Lakra (55th) and Nizamuddin (58th) to enjoy a healthy 5-2 advantage. Secretariat pushed hard and could only manage just one more goal through Felix Ba in the 68th minute.
Nizamuddin for his fantastic efforts, which produced three goals, was declared ‘Man of the Match’ and he received a cash award of Rs 1,000 from MHAL President, Mangha Singh Bakshi (2nd right), Hon. Secretary Ram Singh Rathor (left), and Hon. Vice-President Gurdip Singh Chandok.
Earlier, Abhi Foundation failed to report from their match against Bombay Republicans. Republicans were awarded a win and with three goals and three points.
There will be no match on Tuesday.
Results: Central Railway 5 (Mohd. Nizamuddin 25th, 49th, 58th, Narad Bahadur 48th, Deepak Lakra 55th) beat Central Secretariat (Nilesh K. 2nd, Chetan Somanna 54th, Felix Ba 68th). Man of the match: Mohd Nizamuddin (Central Railway).
How They Stand
Teams P W D L Gf Ga Pts
I Navy 6 4 2 – 21 9 14
C. Railway 6 4 – 2 23 14 12
W. Railway 5 3 2 – 10 6 11
C. Secretariat 5 2 1 2 22 14 7
B. Republicans 5 1 2 2 13 15 5
Union Bank 5 – 2 3 10 21 2
Abhi Foundation 6 – 1 5 10 30 1
(Tabulated at under: P-played, W-win, D-draw,, L-Loss, Gf-goals for, Ga-goals against, Pts-points)
Wednesday schedule:
2.30 pm: Bombay Republicans vs Union Bank of India.
4.00 pm: Western Railway vs Central Secretariat.