The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Sultans enters semifinals

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Thursday, Jan 03, 2008
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Sultans enters semifinals

Special Correspondent

HOCKEY / Eliminates Warriors with a 1-0 verdict

BATTLING IT OUT: Hyderabad Sultans’ Johnson Ekka (left) and Nitin Kumar (right) trying to block Kwang Moon Kweon of Maratha Warriors.

CHANDIGARH: Hyderabad Sultans hung on tenaciously to enter the semifinals and eliminate Maratha Warriors from the ESPN Premier Hockey League with a 1-0 verdict, at the Sector 42 Stadium here on Wednesday.

Sultans joined Bangalore Fliers and Chandigarh Dynamos in the semifinals. The last league match between Orissa Steelers and Sher-e-Jallandhar on Thursday would complete the line-up with the former better placed to make the knockout.

Tough battle

Rehan Butt and Viren Rasquinha failed to motivate the Warriors on a day when the team had to win to survive. It was bound to be tough since Sultans concentrated on some excellent marking that gave the opponents little freedom in the last two quarters.

“We had targeted three players (Shivendra Singh, Butt and Vikram Pillay). The focus was to deprive them of opportunities and we really starved them on the field.

“I think our overall game was satisfactory and the only concern is that we have not been scoring as many goals as we would have desire desired. But we had aimed at winning in regulation time and I am happy we achieved our target of making it to the semifinals,” said a beaming Sultans captain Sardara Singh.

Sardara led by example, triggering some pacy moves on either flank. The forays gained momentum through the innovative and untiring Deedar Singh. He was the livewire as far as Sultans was concerned with some unflinching support from the last man in defence — goalkeeper Oscar Tar Weme. Weme was adjudged the ‘man of the match’.

Butt confessed, “Weme was too good. He made a huge difference to the result of the match. We are disappointed at losing because we had our chances. Our finishing was not up to the mark.”

Weme’s flawless show was the feature of the match and his save in the first quarter indeed breathtaking. Shivendra slipped past the defence on the left and found Pillay, who struck a goal-bound shot but Weme, showing uncanny anticipation, blocked on his right. The trend was set for Weme to stand like a rock.

In a counter-attack, Deedar’s shot was blocked by goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza but an agile Johnson Ekka hammered the rebound in for what was to be the only goal of the match. Sardara later wasted an opportunity when he did not part with the ball with an unmarked Ekka waiting anxiously near the rival goal.

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