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Mumbai, February 8: Jaypee Punjab Warriors defeated Dabur Mumbai Magicians 4-1 in a league match to consolidate their second position in the Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) 2014 at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium in Mumbai today.
The win gave Punjab Warriors 23 points from six outings to put them behind last year’s runners-up Delhi Waveriders, who have so far garnered 29 points from eight matches and are presently atop the leaderboard.
Dabur Mumbai Magicians, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the table with just six points from as many matches.
Jaypee Punjab Warriors took the early lead through a field goal by SV Sunil in the third minute of the match.
Dharamvir Singh doubled Jaypee Punjab Warriors lead in the 17th minute through another field strike after latching on to a loose ball inside the circle.
The Punjab outfit scored two more goals in a span of two minutes to extend their lead.
First young striker Affan Yousuf (25th minute) scored a field goal before ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh (26th minute) converted a penalty stroke to make the scoreline 4-0 in favour of the visitors.
Thereafter, Dabur Mumbai Magicians created a few scoring chances but failed to capitalize on them before V S Vinaya scored from a rebound to reduce the margin to 4-1 at the halfway mark.
In the second half, Dabur Mumbai Magicians dominated the early share of possession and create a few openings but to no avail.
Dabur Mumbai Magicians managed to earn their first penalty corner in the 48th minute but skipper Glenn Turner’s effort was saved by a diving Jaap Stockmann in Jaypee Punjab Warriors goal.
Jaypee Punjab Warriors got a chance to extend their lead in the final minutes of the match when they earned another penalty corner but the stopper failed to gain control of the ball, much to the disappointment of Sandeep Singh.
Speaking to the media post the match, Jamie Dwyer, Captain of Jaypee Punjab Warriors said, “We played well in the first half but were poor in the second half of the game. Dabur Mumbai Magicians got many chances to come back but our goal keeper was good and he managed to save the goals. Our team is quite fresh today after six days of good rest. Also, we are rotating the squad so that all players get rest and also chance to play. The crowd this year is very good and we have been having some real good time in Mumbai.”
Barry Dancer, Coach of Jaypee Punjab Warriors said, “Our goal is to qualify for the semis but more important is to play good hockey. There are hundreds of different area to be focused on at any point of time. We aim to improve one or two at a time. I am happy to see that Sandeep is getting better with every match. He is working really hard and will soon be a force to reckon with. We are inching towards semi finals and Delhi, UP and Ranchi seem to be close contenders for semis.”
M K Kaushik, Coach of Dabur Mumbai Magicians said, “I am not disappointed with the performance of the team but the score line is not favorable. We played in the second half. It was our goal keeper vs their forwards. The team is playing with good temperament. Yes we have conceded goals but we have been good at attacking. I am very happy with the spirit of the team. Glen is doing a good job in keeping the team together. It is getting tougher to get into semi finals but nothing is impossible. We are focusing on winning.”
Addressing the media, Glenn Turner, Dabur Mumbai Magicians said, “It was a tough one. There has never been a situation where we played well but landed on the wrong side of the shoreline. We will look to take off from our second half performance and will hope to notch up an important victory”
Hero Goal of the match winner – Dharamvir Singh
YES Bank Garv Award winner – S V Sunil
Man of the Match – Affan Yousuf
Jaypee Punjab Warriors will next face debutant Kalinga Lancers at home on February 11, while Dabur Mumbai Magicians will be up against defending champions Ranchi Rhinos in Mumbai tomorrow.
Points Table
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