The Hindu : Sport : Orissa Steelers continues its winning sequence

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Monday, Feb 05, 2007
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Orissa Steelers continues its winning sequence

S. Thyagarajan

Sher-E-Jalandhar survives anxious moments

— Photo: V. Ganesan

ON THE BALL: Sher-E-Jalandhar's Tejbir Singh (left) gets the ball past Vikramjit Singh of Chennai Veerans in the Premier Hockey League in Chennai on Sunday.

Chennai: The final set of matches in the first phase of the Premier Hockey League on Sunday provided an enjoyable fare to the holiday crowd. While Orissa Steelers continued its winning sequence quelling the challenge of Maratha Warriors 2-0, the other top team, Sher-E-Jalandhar, survived several anxious moments before registering a 2-1 victory over Chennai Veerans.

Both the winners enlarged their aggregate to 14 points each. The position of the teams before the Chandigarh segment, which begins on February 11, promises a far more intense struggle than what was witnessed here.

The star for Orissa Steelers was once again striker Damandeep Singh. Not only did he net both the goals, but played a leading part in galvanising the frontline sallies in the company of Roshan Minz, supported commendably in the midfield by Prabodh Tirkey.

Splendid goal

After two desultory sessions, the match surged into life consequent to a splendid goal by Damandeep from an accurate centre by Prabodh Tirkey. Steelers was a bit unlucky too as a wristy penalty corner by Steller hit the cross-piece after D'Souza palmed the ball. However in the last quarter Orissa Steelers put the issue beyond doubt when Damandeep made capital of a pass from Sunil Ekkas.

Moments to relish for the Warriors were few. Even the solitary penalty corner it forced in the third quarter proved futile. The withering shot by Raghuvanshi was smartly saved by the Pakistani goalkeeper Salman Akbar.

Lively contest

In a lively contest that generated plenty of pulsating moments, Sher-E-Jalandhar held on gamely in the last quarter against the fighting Chennai Veerans. If the early trend prompted one to think that the Jalandhar team would overwhelm its rival, the final quarter showed how erroneous this line of thinking was.

Jarnail Singh was the key factor in the Sher-E-Jalandhar frontline. With an elegant display, he overshadowed the more renowned Baljit Dhillon, Gagan and Tejbir Singh. The seniors were content to keep Jarnail in a buoyant mood.

As though to prove this, Jarnail slotted a goal with an impeccable backhander after receiving a pass from Baljit in the second quarter. When Gagan Ajit Singh was named the match Man-of-the-Match, quite a few eyebrows were raised. True, Gagan scored the second goal in the fourth quarter off a Tejbir cross, but the move for this also emanated through Jarnail Singh.

Missed openings

Chennai Veerans missed a couple of openings in the first quarter but thereafter it was subjugated by the rival's consistent probing. When the team really started pressing in the fourth quarter, it was a trifle too late. However, the five penalty corners forced in the last quarter — total six — testified the pressure exerted on the fumbling Jalandhar defence.

When Somanna deflected a free hit by Kuhen Shanmuganathan nine minutes before the final whistle, there was excitement all around. The big holiday crowd fully backed the Veerans after Vir Bahadur confirmed the goal with the third umpire.

Earlier, there was a tense moment for Jalandhar when Kanwalpreet Singh made a goalline save off a penalty corner by Kuhen. The third umpire's ruling came in favour of the Jalandhar squad, which warded off a penalty corner threat after the regulation time.

The results:

Sher-E-Jalandhar 2 (Jarnail Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh) bt Chennai Veerans 1 (Somanna); Man-of- the-Match: Gagan Ajit Singh.

Orissa Steelers 2 (Damandeep Singh 2) bt Maratha Warriors 0; Man of the Match: Damandeep Singh.

Team positions (at the end of the Chennai leg): Orissa Steelers Played six, points 14; Sher-E-Jalandhar 6-14 Bangalore Lions 6-9; Chennai Veerans 6-7; Maratha Warriors 6-7; Chandigarh Dynamos 6-7; Hyderabad Sultans 6-5.

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