Punjab National Bank (PNB), Delhi dished out a steady performance to sent defending champions Air India, Delhi packing out in the semi-final round of the 12th PMC Bank-Guru Tegh Bahadur All India Gold Cup Hockey Championship, organized by MHAL (Mumbai Hockey Association Limited) and played at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate on Thursday.
Punjab National Bank forward Ranjit Singh tries to work his way past Air India defender Mehkeet Singh (left) during a semi-final match
Satender Dalal opened the scoring for PNB in the 11th minute before prolific scorer Gagandeep Singh managed to double the lead in the 59th minute and seal the win.
The experienced Air India outfit boasting of former Indian stalwarts skipper Shivendra Singh, Sameer Dad, Arjun Halappa, Vikram Pillay, Birendra Lakra, Girish Pimple and goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza were totally a disjointed lot and were far from impressive. They lacked coordination and understanding and struggled to penetrate deep into the rival territory and create goal-scoring opportunities.
The PNB defence was compact and defended resolutely. Defenders Satpal Singh, Ravinder Tewatia, Rajwinder Singh and Sanjay were rock solid and rallied well to keep the Air India attackers in check and not provide them many opportunities to have attempts at goal.
Punjab National Bank defender Rajwinder Singh (left) receives the ‘Man of the match’ award from Olympian Rahul Singh (2nd right). Also seen in the photo is Ram Singh Rathor (2nd left), MHAL, Hon. Secreatary and Mangha Singh Bakshi, MHAL President
In contrast PNB did not do anything exceptional but showed better understanding and had more attempts at goal. However, they were restricted to just two goals as Air India custodian Adrian D’Souza made a couple of fine saves.
However, he was beaten in the 11th minute when Dalal after latching on to Inder Pal Singh forward pass beat him with an angular hit from the right.
Air India were unable to get back into the match and to make matters worse, they were also guilty of wasting quite a few simple chances, with veteran Sameer Dad missing from close.
PNB continued to hold sway and could have added a couple of more goals. But Air India were saved the embarrassment thanks to D’Souza who blocked shots from Sumit Toppo, Naveen Antil and Sanjay in the second period.
The Punjab side finally managed to add the second goal when Gagandeep Singh managed to score from a second attempt after he fumbled with his earlier try from close.
That goal knocked the fight out Air India and ensured PNB’s place in the Friday’s final to be played at 5.30 pm.
Semi-final results: Punjab National Bank 2 (Satendra Dalal 11th, Gagandeep Singh 59th) beat Air India, Delhi 0.
In the second semi-final, a charged up Western Railway, Mumbai produced a solid, determined performance to tame RCF (Rail Coach Fasctory), Kapurthala by a convincing 5-1 margin to storm into the final.
Western Railway 5 (Malak Singh 29th, Ayyappa 31st, Vinod Singh 32nd, Amit Rohidas 47th, 54th) beat Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala 1 (Karanpal Singh 44th). Man of the match: Sourabh Singh (Western Railway – goalkeeper).