Women’s HIL | Grannato propels Soorma past Tigers

While the JSW Soorma Hockey Club won’t be able to avoid the wooden spoon in the Women’s Hockey India League despite having received a second wind under interim coach Rani Rampal, its late resurgence may have done the SG Pipers a mighty service. For there’s a possibility that the Punjab and Haryana-based franchise may have dented Shrachi Bengal Tigers’ confidence with a 3-2 win ahead of the big final on Saturday at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Stadium here.

The teams adopted identical tactics on Wednesday, getting the action underway with 4-3-3 formations and offering precious gametime to players who would have otherwise started on the bench. For different reasons, of course — Soorma would have wanted to test its pipeline, while the Tigers may have been looking to rest a few tired legs.

Soorma didn’t take long to break the door open. Sonam, taking advantage of a goalmouth scramble, played the role of the fox in the box to hand her side an early lead. That being her fifth goal in the league, it took her alongside Yibbi Jansen and Charlotte Englebert as the joint highest goalscorer.

There was a fourth addition to the elite club when Agustina Gorzelany restored parity in the third quarter. A trademark dragflick from the first battery , the Argentine’s bread and butter, did the trick for the ‘Neon Socks’ holder.

Soorma pulled away when Penny Squibb unleashed a bullet off a penalty corner that made a resounding crack on the boards. Meanwhile, Maria Granatto accounted for Soorma’s third, the 30-year-old deflecting the ball just enough to see it sail over the head of the shot-stopper and kiss the roof of the net.

With the clock closing in on the hour mark, Lalremsiami scored in the 60th minute, but it was too little too late.

The result: Shrachi Bengal Tigers 2 (Gorzelany 37, Lalremsiami 60) lost to JSW Soorma Hockey Club 3 (Sonam 10, Squibb 50, Granatto 53).