Propelled by the twin strikes from M.S. Thakur, Indian Navy cruised to a deserving 2-0 win against Central Secretariat in a Super Division match of the MHAL (Mumbai Hockey Association Limited) League – 2016, and played at the MHAL Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate, on Wednesday evening.
Indian Navy’s ace forward M.S. Thakur (right) receives the ‘Man of the match’ award from MHAL Hon. Secretary, Ram Singh Rahtor (centre)after their Super League encounter. Also seen is MHAL President Mangha Singh Bakshi.
The win lifted Navy to the top of the 7-team standing with 13 points from five games. They have a game in hand against Western Railway, but are already assured of a berth in the final.
The disciplined sailors started in right earnest and after initial probing finally hit the target in the 32nd minute through Thakur, who did well to trap Sanjeev Toppo’s slap-hit and coolly beat Secretariat goalkeeper P. Naveen for the first goal.
The Naval outfit continued to call the shots on resumption, but Secretariat custodian Naveen made some superb saves to foil attempts from Pawan Rajbir, Rana Pratap and penalty corner specialists Sajit Lakra and S.C. Kindo.
However, Naven was beaten for the second time in the 52nd minute. He did well to block Pawan’s powerful hit from the right, but to his misfortune the ball deflected straight to Thakur on the right and he quickly fired home from an acute angle.
Although the Secretariat side lacked fluidity they managed to create some goal-scoring opportunities by were let down by poor finishing.
Earlier, Central Railway struck good form in the second half, scoring five times during this period, to register a 7-1 win against a young Bombay Republicans. For Central, Narad Bahadur recorded a fine hat-trick by converting three penalty corners. Bahadur’s teammate Mohd Nizamuddin chipped in with two goals (40th and 46th minutes), while Victo Singh (33rd) and Rajendra Pawar (41st) got one each to seal Central’s win. Kartik Sharma from a penalty stroke scored Republicans lone goal.
Central now tally six points from four games, while Republicans, from three games have a solitary point from their 3-3 draw with Indian Navy.
Narad Bahadur of Central Railway and Indian Navy’s were declared ‘Man of the Match’ in their respective matches and both received a cash prize of Rs 1,000 each.
Results: Indian Navy (M.S. Thakur 32nd, 52nd) beat Central Secretariat 0. Man of the match: M.S. Thakur (Indian Navy).
Central Railway 7 (Victo Singh 33rd, Narad Bahadur 35th, 61st, 66th, Mohd Nizamuddin 40th, 46th, Rajendra Pawar 41st) beat Bombay Republicans 1 (Kartik Sharma 34th). Man of the match: Narad Bahadur (Central Railway).