Army XI rout Namdhari XI; Bharat Petroleum notch second win in a row

Mumbai, Apr 25 (UNI) Army XI played superb counter attacking hockey to hand out Namdhari XI their second consecutive defeat routing them 4-0 in the semi-final league match of the 44th Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament being played at the Mahindra stadium here today.

Earlier in the day, Bharat Petroleum notched up their second consecutive win beating defending champions Western Railway by the odd goal in three to take a huge step towards qualifying for the final.

Bharat Petroleum now lead the table with six points from two wins out of two played, while Army XI is in second spot with three points having played a game less than Bharat Petroleum. Western Railway and Namdhari XI with one and two losses respectively have yet to open their account.

The Army XI looked the fitter side on the field and also the more talented one and should have gone into the lead in the 10th minute itself but A K Mahji missed an open goal after getting a long pass from Dhananjay Mahadik.

However, the Army side was not to be denied for too long and in the 16th minute, Cyprind Aind put them ahead converting a rebound of a shot taken by Suresh Kumar Ekka.

Namdhari XI then tried hard to get the equaliser and forced three penalty corners but all went abegging.

In the second half also Army XI took early control and just five minutes after the break Suresh Kumar Ekka converted following a cross by Mahji. Suresh Kumar Ekka's shot was pushed into the goal by the rival captain Anmolak Singh.

Namdhari XI now went on an all out attack to try and get back into the game and forced as many as four more penalty corners, but the Army goalkeeper P T Rao was in great form and made some great saves to deny the Namdharis.

With Namdhari XI going on an all out attack, the Army XI used the long ball to great effect on the counter attacks and in the 66th minute S V Sunil put through Suresh Kumar who did not make any mistake to put his side 3-0 up and then in the 69th minute Suresh Kumar added another goal to his kitty when he put his side 4-0 up with a powerful shot after being fed by S V Sunil again.

In the earlier match, after a barren first half, Bharat Petroleum took the lead against Western Railway in the 42nd minute when Lenn Aiyappa with his trademark drag flick put them 1-0 in the lead following their fifth penalty corner.

The defending champions Western Railway, however, fought back and equalised eight minutes later through a brilliant field goal by Jayesh Jadhav.

Bharat Petroleum who had tasted success in the first league match yesterday showed no signs of tiredness of playing on consecutive days and forced as many as seven penalty corners and got the winning goal with just two minutes remaining for the final hooter when Sabu Varkey converted their team's seventh penalty corner and give them a well deserved win.

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