Birthday gift: Harmanpreet led from the front.
| Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
Captain Harmanpreet Singh struck a brilliant brace as Soorma Club fought back to beat Delhi SG Pipers 3-1 in the penalty shoot-out in the Hockey India League at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Monday.
Birthday boy Harmanpreet’s double penalty corner conversion levelled the scores 2-2 before the ever-reliable Vincent Vanasch asserted his class to thwart three Pipers strikers in the shoot-out and fetch Soorma a crucial bonus point.
Pipers controlled the match better in the first-half.
Pipers – served well by the omnipresent Jarmanpreet Singh calmly blocked and cleared Soorma’s attacks and ran up effortlessly to support his colleagues upfront – stayed ahead in terms of ball possession and circle entries apart from getting two penalty corners. However, Pipers’ finishing was not good enough before the half-time.
Soorma made some ineffective forays, while Vanasch guarded the post with confidence.
The hard-working Tomas Domene, who saw his attempts go in vain earlier, received a pass, went into the circle and outwitted Vanasch with his stickwork to draw first blood.
Soon after, the busy Jake Whetton unleashed a superb cross from outside the circle and Manjeet made it 2-0 with a diving deflection at the stroke of the final break.
Soorma caught up in the final 15 minutes. Their midfield supplied well as Soorma raised the tempo to get two consecutive short corners early in the fourth quarter and Harmanpreet found an unusual angle to beat goalkeeper Ben Rennie as the ball got deflected from his pads.
Soorma equalised in the closing minutes when Harmanpreet showed his brilliance, scoring from another angle to convert the team’s fifth penalty corner.
Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nicolas Keenan and Boris Burkhardt found the target in Soorma’s 3-1 win in the tie-breaker. Aditya Lalage was the lone scorer for Pipers.
The result:
Delhi SG Pipers 2 (Domene 43, Manjeet 45) drew with Soorma Hockey Club 2 (Harmanpreet 48, 57); Soorma bt Pipers 3-1 in penalty shootout.
Published – January 06, 2025 11:12 pm IST
