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A fast paced game of hockey between Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Mumbai Magicians at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium in Mumbai finally saw a high scoring game in the inaugural Hockey India League. Trailing 1-2 till the 56th minute, Jaypee Punjab Warriors mounted a late comeback to score 3 goals in the next 14 minutes to register their first win after 4 matches in the tournament.
Dharamvir Singh scored the first goal of the match in just 3 minutes when Dwyer’s pass was flicked in by the Indian striker to give Punjab an early lead. The lead however lasted only 3 minutes as Mumbai’s Satbir Singh tapped in a deflection to equalise for the Magicians. The teams were still locked at 1-1 at the end of the 1st quarter.
There was a lengthy delay for the start of the 2nd quarter as one of the floodlights failed and the match was stopped due to bad light. When the game resumed eventually, Mumbai missed a few chances but ace drag flicker Sandeep Singh slotted in a low, straight Penalty Corner in the 32nd minute to give Mumbai Magicians a lead at half-time.
After much tussle in the middle, Jamie Dwyer made the Mumbai Magicians pay by counter attacking in the 56th minute. Shivendra Singh’s lovely pass was collected by the Australian and chipped over the oncoming ‘keeper’s head to make the score 2-2.
4 minutes later, Punjab completed the comeback as Ranjit Singh got his stick to a ball from the right and gave Punjab the lead for the 2nd time in the match.
Mumbai Magicians tried to make several attacking moves but couldn’t muster an equaliser.
In the dying seconds of the match, Jaypee Punjab Warriors sealed a memorable win with SV Sunil and Dharamvir Singh combining to produce a brilliant finish. A defensive lapse led to Sunil and Dharamvir pacing towards the goal with only the ‘keeper to beat. Sunil, calmly and selflessly, passed on the ball to Dharamvir at the last moment, who did not miss the chance to slot it in and make it 4-2 for Punjab Warriors.
This was the first win for Jaypee Punjab Warriors in the tournament as Mumbai Magicians still remain winless in their 3 matches so far.
Man of the Match: Jamie Dwyer
Watch the highlights of the match here:
