Rourkela (Odisha): Prabhjot Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Nicolas Keenan and Maninder Singh got on the scoresheet as JSW Soorma Hockey Club came back and secured a hard-fought 5-3 victory against the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in the Men’s Hockey India League (HIL) 2024-25 at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Monday.
Dilpreet Singh (5’) gave the Lancers the lead in the game but Prabhjot Singh (26’) restored parity for Soorma. Harmanpreet Singh (32’, 54’) and Nicolas Keenan (33’) extended Soorma’s lead with quickfire goals in the third quarter, however, Theirry Brinkman (44’) pulled a goal back towards the end of the quarter. Maninder Singh (51’) and Harmanpreet Singh found the back of the net to extend Soorma’s lead further and even though Gursahibjit Singh (56’) pulled a goal back in the dying minutes, Soorma walked away with three crucial points.
Soorma dictated the tempo as the game began, making headways into the opposition half but the Lancers had the first shot of the game as Sanjay crossed the ball from the right wing and Aran Zalewski’s deflection forced Soorma goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch into action early. Minutes later, Dilpreet Singh received the ball on top of the circle and swirled around to unleash a thunderous shot to grant the Lancers the lead.
They went on to trade circle entries as the first quarter came to an end. Lancers’ Rabi deflected Thierry Brinkman’s cross toward the goal in the last minute but he was inches away and the quarter ended 1-0 in their favour. The Lancers pegged Soorma back into their circle as the second quarter began and soon after Boby Singh Dhami shot but his attempt was wide. Soorma grew into the game as the quarter progressed, making frequent forays into the Lancers’ circle with a slower tempo.
With four minutes left in the quarter, Harmanpreet hammered the ball straight down the middle to Prabhjot who got behind his marker and deflected the ball past Lancers’ goalkeeper Cotterill Toby Reynolds to equalise for Soorma. The Lancers earned a penalty corner as the half came to an end but Sanjay’s low dragflick was swatted away easily.
The third quarter began with Soorma earning a penalty corner and captain Harmanpreet Singh unleashing a powerful flick to the right top corner, to give his team the lead. In the very next play, Harmanpreet found Nicolas Keenan who barged into the circle and found the back of the net with a reverse shot.
Soorma slowed down the tempo again, aiming to protect their lead but as the quarter came to a close, Brinkman received the ball close to the goal and, from an acute angle, whizzed the ball into goal. Brinkman earned a penalty corner for the Lancers within minutes of the last quarter but they were not able to find the back of the net with a variation. Soorma responded by earning a penalty corner of their own in the next minute but Maninder Singh failed to keep his shot on target from the middle of the circle.
In the very next play, Soorma initiated a free-flowing counter-attack and Gurjant Singh from the right wing found Maninder in a one-on-one with Krishan Pathak. This time Maninder picked out the roof of the net to extend Soorma’s lead in the game again. They went on to earn a penalty corner with six minutes left in the game and Harmanpreet stepped up again to find the bottom right corner and make it 5-2.
The Lancers surged ahead with minutes left in the game and Brinkman danced past multiple defenders and pulled the ball back to Gursahibjit Singh, who tapped the ball in and pulled a goal back. The Lancers earned another penalty corner with a minute left in the game but Hendrickx was unable to keep his flick on target. Soorma defended well in the final seconds, sealing their victory in this high-scoring match.
(IANS)
