Delhi Waveriders outplay Ranchi

Rays 2-0 in HIL

IANS | Feb 14, 2015, 09.34 PM IST

Chand

NEW DELHI: Defending

champions
Delhi
Waveriders came out
strongly
to
earn
a
comprehensive 2-0 win
over Ranchi Rays in a
Hero
Hockey
India
League (HIL) encounter
at the Major Dhyan
National Stadium here on Saturday.

Two field goals

from Lloyd Norris-Jones

(26th minute) and Akashdeep
Singh (53rd)
sealed the deal for the
home team that
solidified their position in
the standings. Five points from the match meant that they are strongly positioned at
fourth with 22 points.
On the other hand, though the Rays lost, they got two points for losing by two goals or
less which helped them earn two points to go top of the table with 31, ahead of Jaypee
Punjab Warriors.
The first quarter was totally dominated by the Rays who kept most of the possession.
Though the Waveriders' defence was under pressure but it did not crumble as the game
was more or less played in their half. However, some good passing enabled the visitors
to finally earn a penalty corner. But a straight hit to the Waveriders' German custodian
Nicolas Jacobi diminished any chance of Rays taking the lead and the match remained
goalless at the end of the first quarter.
The hosts came out stronger in the second quarter and this time they dominated
possession. Though Waveriders captain Sardar Singh did not look in his prime, his boys
did a good job of fluently passing the ball to each other.
Their hard work finally bore fruit when South African Norris-Jones provided the nudge
required to see the ball enter the Rays goal in the 26th minute as Waveriders went into
half-time with a 1-0 lead.
The score remained the same till the hooter, handing Waveriders their third victory in
eight outings. Waveriders defender Rupinder was awarded the Man-of-the-Match.
Waveriders take on Kalinga Lancers here on Sunday, while Rays will next be in action in
their 10th and final league match against Warriors at Mohali on Tuesday.
Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

HIL: Gurjinder's brace takes Kalinga

Lancers home against Dabang
Mumbai
PTI | Feb 13, 2015, 10.13 PM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Gurjinder Singh struck twice through penalty corners to give Kalinga
Lancers a 2-1 win over Dabang Mumbai in the battle of bottom-placed teams in the
Hockey India League on Friday.
Gurjinder scored in the 11th and 20th minute, helping Lancers to their second win in nine
games. He also scored the 100th goal of the 2015 edition.
Mumbai's Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 36th minute for a
consolation goal. Lancers are struggling with 16 points from nine games while Mumbai
have 13 from eight games with only one win to show.
Mumbai travel to Lucknow for Sunday's game against Uttar Pradesh Wizards while
Lancers head to Delhi to take on the Waveriders. Dabang Mumbai coach Anil Aldrin
said: "We are very disappointed with the performance today. We were unable to
overcome them irrespective of making changes during the game. We will play for
winning our next match".
Kalinga Lancers Jude Felix said: "We made some mistakes and we will come back
strong in our next match. Gonazalo Peillat is not performing as per his capabilities and
which effects our game on the field".

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Hockey India League: Delhi

Waveriders hold Kalinga Lancers to
2-2 draw
PTI | Feb 12, 2015, 10.33 PM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Delhi Waveriders rallied after conceding two goals to play out a
thrilling 2-2 draw against Kalinga Lancers in their first leg clash of the Hockey India
League on Thursday.
Kalinga Lancers were 2-0 up with goals from Lucas Vila (3rd minute) and Vikas Sharma
(20th) but Delhi Waveriders made a brilliant recovery with drag-flicker Andrew Hayward
(27th) and Talwinder Singh (59th) finding the target as the two teams split points at the
Kalinga Stadium.
The first quarter of the match saw both Kalinga Lancers and Delhi Waveriders in an
attacking mode as both the sides tried to score the first goal in the match.
Yuvraj Walmiki of Delhi Waveriders made a good run into the opponents' D but failed to
score the goal, Lucas Vila of Kalinga Lancers made a similar run but did not make any
mistakes while firing in a field goal in the third minute of the game itself.
Kalinga Lancers dominated the first quarter as they penetrated Delhi Waveriders' striking
circle more frequently, but goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi with his perfect saves and athletic
skills did not allow the home team to add any further goals.
Kalinga Lancers doubled their lead in the second quarter through the stick of Vikas
Sharma in the 20th minute of the match.
Delhi Waveriders rallied in a fine fashion and they earned a penalty corner in the 27th
minute and drag-flicker Andrew Hayward's perfect strike reduced the margin.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Delhi Waveriders rallied in a fine fashion against Kalinga Lancers. (TOI Photo)

The

third quarter of the game

saw a much calculated
game coming in from both
the sides as both Kalinga
Lancers and Delhi
Waveriders did well in
attacking and defensive
play. Kalinga Lancers did
manage to secure a
penalty corner with just six
minutes remaining on the
clock for the third quarter
to end, but failed to
convert it into a goal.

The barren third quarter was followed by an action-packed fourth quarter that saw
attacks and counter-attacks coming in from both the ends as both the teams went all out
with their full strength.
Delhi Waveriders secured two penalty corners but failed to convert them into a goal. It
was Talwinder Singh of Delhi Waveriders who sneaked in a goal in the dying minutes of
the match with a deflection and helped his team level the scores 2-2.
Speaking on his team's performance Delhi Waveriders Head Coach Cedric D'souza
said, "We are surprised to see Kalinga Lancers playing an aggressive game and the fact
that they managed to keep the ball and rotate it among their players. But by the end of
the match we managed to implement our strategies and got back into the game.
"We failed to materialize on penalty corner opportunities and even Kalinga Lancers
goalkeeper Andrew Charter did a commendable job today. We are satisfied with the
results and we are looking forward to better our game in the upcoming matches," he
said.
Kalinga Lancers Head Coach Jude Felix said, "We played a better game today as we
stuck to the plan of keeping the ball possession with us. We managed to dominate the
match but we failed to score more goals. We could have won the match as we got an
early lead in the game but in the fourth quarter the young players were seen playing with
much anxiety which cost us the goal in the dying minutes.
"The team is improving with every match and today we showed a much better
performance than our previous matches. We had to settle for an unfortunate result but
the team is very much motivated for the matches ahead," he said.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

HIL: UP thrash Mumbai to take one

step closer to semis
PTI | Feb 11, 2015, 09.21 PM IST

MUMBAI: Uttar Pradesh Wizards trounced Dabang Mumbai 5-1 to take a firm step
towards the semifinals of the Hero Hockey India League at the Mahindra Stadium on
Wednesday.
Dutch midfielder Bob de Voogd scored two brilliant reverse-hit field goals in quick
succession (42nd and 45th minutes) for the winners, who rode roughshod over the home
team after the first quarter.
The winners' remaining goals were notched by India internationals Ramandeep Singh
(26th; the account opener), Nikkin Thimmaiah (34th) and V R Raghunath (50th).
The lone goal for the home team came off the stick of Australian Jeremy Hayward off an
indirect penalty corner conversion -- the fourth set-piece award out of a total of eight
earned -- in the 44th minute of play.
Their fourth win in eight games helped UP take their tally to 25 points with two games in
hand, against Mumbai again at Lucknow on February 15 and against holders Delhi
Waveriders on February 18.
But they had to wait for the opening goal as India defender V R Raghunath moved on
the right and squared the ball across the goalmouth with Mumbai goalkeeper David
Harte unable to cut it off, but the pass went waste with nobody there to deflect it home.
Both teams forced a penalty corner each in the second part of the quarter, but neither
could find the mark. UP attacked with vigour whenever they got the ball, in contrast to
Mumbai whose attack did not carry the same punch as in the opening quarter.
Mumbai forced four more penalty corners in the remaining time but failed to break the
rival defence.
Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Hockey India League: Ranchi Rays beat

Punjab Warriors to enter semifinals
TNN | Feb 10, 2015, 10.41 PM IST

RANCHI: In a thrilling contest between two top teams of the ongoing Hockey India
League 2015, Ranchi Rays outwitted table toppers Punjab Warriors 3-2.
Punjab conceded an early goal in the 13th minute and the second goal in the 45th
minute leaving them trailing the game 0-2.
Punjab finally made a comeback in the game by leveling the scores 2-2 in the fourth
quarter, but wasting no time Ranchi Rays came back strong and scored the third goal
and went on to win the game.
Post the match, both Ranchi and Punjab are locked at 29 points at the points table.
The first quarter produced frenetic action, with both the teams struggling to splinter the
defence of the other team.
Ranchi seized an early initiative and opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute when
the team earned a penalty corner. Ashley Jackson drag flicked and was saved by the
Punjab goalie but Parvinder Singh scored on the rebound, helping his team take the
early lead in the game. With 1-0 on the scoreboard, Ranchi were leading at the end of
first quarter.
Ranchi took control of the proceedings for the major part of the first two quarters and
made several forays into the Punjab's half whose defense held firm. As both the teams
played the game aggressively and kept the pressure alive, none of the team members
were able to seize the opportunity and the score remained in favour of Rays 1-0 at the
end of first half.
With the change of ends, the game became more intense with Punjab struggling for a
much needed equalizer. Although, the two teams tried creating chances into each other's
D, Punjab managed a penalty corner opportunity but Bharat Chetri playing the
replacement of Jaap Stockman in this match, saved for his team.

Ranchi Rays players celebrate scoring a goal against Punjab Warriors. (TOI Photo)
With the passing time, Rays switched on its attacking mode as another beautiful piece of
play was displayed by Ashley Jackson who successfully converted a penalty corner in
the 45th minute and added another magnificent goal to his name.
While Ranchi soaked up everything that was thrown at them, Punjab finally made a
comeback and showcased its better side by scoring two goals in three minutes.
In search of opening their scorecard, Punjab's Agustin Mazzilli surged ahead and

sneaked past the

goal post through
a field effort and
opened the score
card for his team
in 47th minute.
This was followed
by another beautiful
field goal by
Satbir Singh who
made a monster strike
for Punjab in 49th
minute, leveling
the score to 2-2.
But this equalizer was short-lived as in the 51st minute Ranchi struck their third goal,
coming from the stick of Stanli Minz and taking the score to 3-2.
Man of the Match and Ranchi captain Ashley Jackson said, "Fantastic to get a win in the
last game in front of our home crowd. It is a psychological advantage winning the game
against them today before the semifinal and finals stage."
Speaking on the win, Ranchi head coach Harendra Singh, said, "Jaypee Punjab
Warriors have a good defence. The game came alive in the fourth quarter and while they
played well in that quarter but we gave them equal fight. We are looking forward to our
next match and we will learn from our mistakes today. MS Dhoni sends us a good luck
message before every match to go for the kill. We as a team are improving with each
game and this is positive for us."
Punjab head coach Barry Dancer, said, "They played very well. We will change our
strategy for the next match against them and come back strong. We created a lot of
opportunities in this match but we failed to convert the crucial goals. My team is playing
excellent in this tournament and we need to keep this going".
Goal of the Match: Satbir Singh, Jaypee Punjab Warriors
Man of the Match: Ashley Jackson, Ranchi Rays.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com