Indian Oil goes down to Maharashtra

By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, DEC.1.Tata Sports Club caught Mumbai napping in a morning match of the National hockey championships, Asad Khan netting the match winner for the first upset of the day. The second encounter to decide two qualifiers from Pool 'D' saw Indian Oil suffering from the early morning blues, going down 1-3 to Maharashtra after taking the lead. The two surprise results leading to a situation where five of the six teams-- Central Reserve Police Force, Tatas, Mumbai, Indian Oil and Maharashtra-- have six points each on day five.

Tata Sports Club, fielding youngsters from the Sports Authority of India (Kandivili) centre, besides a few regulars, played a focussed game against Mumbai, which failed to get out of its slumber despite Asad Khan's 17th minute wakeup call. The stocky SAI trainee, a regular scorer in the local league, showed he could repeat the feat at a higher level, catching the Mumbai defence by surprise with a smooth dribble past a defender and picking his spot to sound the boards.

Claes Ferreira, a potential threat whenever the ball is within range due to his thrust and ability to find space, had two chances to put his name on the scorers list, but could not get the ball past Arun Gurung under the Mumbai bar. At the other end, Tatas' faith in Mallan Gowda paid off, the goalkeeper showing the gumption to stand up agai nst an attack featuring Olympians Gagan Ajit Singh, skipper Sabu Varkey and the hard-working Gurmeet Singh Rao.

The Mumbai skipper, striving manfully as usual, got the best chance to equalise in the second half when a diagonal pass from the right found him within hand-shaking distance from the goalkeeper. However, Varkey ended up in a position where he could neither deflect the ball nor attempt a hit, the outcome being a feeble shot taken off-balance which was cleared.

Maharashtra, under-achievers so far despite troubling both Mumbai and CRPF in earlier matches, used the right opportunity to realise their potential. Coming to Mumbai after an eight-day camp at Pimpri, this collection of players from the Khadki belt, representing Bombay Engineering Group and Railway Police Force, displayed skill in ample measure, besides the fitness which is so essential for hockey on artificial surfaces.

The manner in which Maharashtra, led by ex- international Ajit Lakra, turned the match around, after suffering an early reverse at the hands of India striker Deepak Thakur, is an indication of a team which has used a day's break to find its bearings and recover from fatigue after three matches on consecutive days. The Indian Oil spearhead broke through in the sixth minute, beating three defenders during a spectacular run down the left, making space for himself inside the 'D' and scoring with a lethal reverse hit, falling as his stick connected with the ball.

From then on, it was Indian Oil's turn to do the chasing as Maharashtra turned on the heat, matching its more talented opponents in all departments of the game. If Niranjan Ekka's equaliser came as a bolt from the blue, trapping and sounding the boards in one smooth motion off the second penalty corner, the Indian Oil defenders were again caught unawares by the power he could generate off a short backswing when netting the match- winner. Naman Bage was the other scorer, getting his team the lead through a super field goal, a shot on the run after slipping past two defenders.

Saturday's matches: Indian Oil vs Gujarat (11.00 a.m.); CRPF vs Tatas (2.00 p.m.).

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