The Hindu : MPT sends TN packing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 03, 2004

Sport

Sport - Hockey

MPT sends TN packing

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, MARCH 2. Tamil Nadu XI learnt a bitter truth that goals are more important than chances. The State side should have won by a tennis margin had it managed to cash in on goalmouth opportunities, but ended up losing to Mumbai Port Trust 1-2 in a first round knock-out match of the 42nd Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament-2004.

G. Gopinath got the Mumbai team the lead while Simon Pascal and Leonard Pereira struck in the second half to ensure an entry into the second round of the Union Bank-sponsored event, which has Punjab National Bank and State Bank as co-sponsors.

Sikh Regimental Centre ousted Maharashra XI 3-0 in an earlier tie played at the Mahindra stadium, goals coming through penalty corners (Satnam Singh Senior's drag flick and M. Tirkey's indirect conversion) and Mangra Minz finished off a Harjit Singh-Tirkey move for the third goal.

MPT came back into the match against TN XI after the breather, experienced Pascal scoring with a breathtaking diving deflection, falling on the goalline to divert home a Leonard pass hit beyond the on-rushing Sundaram in the TN goal.

Leonard then sounded the boards with a crisp acute angle shot off Osaf-ur-Rehman for the match-winner. The Mumbai side takes on SRC in the next round.

The results (first round): SRC 3 (Satnam Singh Sr, M. Tirkey, Mangra Minz) bt Maharashtra XI 0; MPT 2 (Simon Pascal, Leonard Pereira) bt TN XI 1 (G. Gopinath).

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