Shers down Veerans 2-0 to open account

Chandigarh, Dec 23 (UNI) Ace forward Gagan Ajit Singh and Jugraj Singh fired a goal each as Sher-e-Jallandhar opened their account with a 2-0 win over Chennai Veerans in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League here today.

In a fast paced encounter, Chennai Veerans keept the Shers' forwards at bay in the first two quarters. Veerans created good moves with the midfield supporting the frontline and they created some good turn-overs but failed to capitalize on them.

But two soft goals in the space of three minutes early in the third quarter by Shers put the match beyond Veerans, who tried hard to come back into the match.

Three minutes into the third quarter, Shers initiated a move on the left flank and Dilawar Hussain moved into the circle on the left goalline and sent a reverse pass to an unmarked Gagan Ajit Singh near the spot.

Gagan received the ball, positioned himself and shot into the goal beating Veerans' custodian Sreejesh to put Shers in the lead.

Three minutes later, Shers forced the third of their four penalty corners and converted it to make it 2-0. With skipper Kanwalpreet failing to convert the earlier two short corners with his drag flicks, Shers resorted to an indirect variation. Prabhdeep stopped the ball and relayed it to his right and Jugraj took a weak grounder which rolled into the goal after Sreejesh fumbled with the block.

Dilawar Hussain, the player from Pakistan, who was active in the Shers' frontline was declared man of the match.

Shers, who lost to Hyderabad Sultans 0-3 in their opener, now have three points from two matches. For Veerans this is the second straight defeat after their 1-4 loss to Maratha Warriors on Day two.

Both teams have four more matches in the round-robin where the top four teams play the knock-out semifinals.

UNI