Former champions Western Railway in their quest to regain the title took off on the right track as they thumped Sports Authority of India (SAI) by a comfortable 5-1 margin in the opening Pool-B match of the Mumbai ‘Super League 2015’, organised by the MHAL (Mumbai Hockey Association Limited), and played at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate, on Monday.
Malak Singh receiving the Man of the Match award.
Western who encountered initial resistance and enjoyed a slender 2-1 half-time lead managed to score their goals through Malak Singh, Manpreet Singh, Amit Rohidass, Dharvir Yadav and Vinod Singh. SAI who tried their best to math their more experienced opponents scored their lone goal through Shailesh.
Later in the evening, Western’s counterparts, Central Railway were fortunate to escape with a point as they shared honours with a resurgent Indian Navy in Pool-A. In a scrappy encounter, Central took the lead when Deepak Lakra against the run of play beat Navy custodian Vikash with a not-too-powerful drive from the top of the circle in 21st minute. Thereafter, Central seemed content on hanging to their lead as they hardly created any goal-scoring breaks.
The sailors fully exploited the situation as they gradually got their act together and put pressure on the Central defence. However, their efforts were often baulked by Central goalkeeper and captain Avadhut Solankar who made some fine saves throughout the match.
However, Solankar was finally beaten when Navy found success from their 6th penalty corner in the 67th minute. Navy who lacked a quality short corner specialist, managed to sound the boards when Suman Kindo with a strong push beat goalkeeper Solankar to his right post to salvage a draw for the sailors.
Malak Singh of Western Railway and Avadhut Solankar of Central Railway won the ‘Man-of-the-match’ awards in their respective matches and were both awarded a cash prize of Rs 1,000 each.
The Results:
Pool-A: Central Railway 1 (Deepak Lakra 21st) drew with Indian Navy 1 (Suman Kindo 67th).
Pool-B: Western Railway 5 (Malak Singh 20th, Manpreet Singh 31st, Amit Rohidass 46th, Dharvir Yadav 68th, Vinod Singh 70th) beat Sports Authority of India 1 (Shailesh 27th).
Tuesday’s fixtures
4.15 pm: Rhema Sports vs Abhi Foundation .