Just five minutes into the game Delhi Waveriders managed
their first penalty corner and Rupinder Singh had the chance to take the early
lead for his team but Sreejesh saved effortlessly and averted the danger. Delhi
Waveriders again attacked when a good pass by Sardar Singh in the D was hit at
the nets by Gurwinder Chandi but Sreejesh made a brilliant save again denying
the home team the goal. Just seconds left for the quarter to end, Uttar Pradesh
Wizards bagged their first penalty corner of the day but was not taken cleanly
and hence the team was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The quarter
ended 0-0 with both teams yet to open their scores.
Uttar Pradesh got their second chance of a penalty corner in
the 20th minute and Raghunath made no mistake in ensuring that he hit it
past the goalie and into the nets. With the goal the scorecard opened 1-0 in
favor of the visiting team. The second half was dominated by Uttar Pradesh
Wizards in the entire session as they kept the pressure on Waveriders by
penetrating through their defence, but unfortunately were unable to capitalize
on the opportunities during the entire session. With no further goals scored
the first half ended 1-0 with Delhi Waveriders trailing.
In the 34th minute Pardeep Mor from the right flank hit
hard to Jeroen Hertzberger standing right in front of the D and who made an
easy flick into the nets leaving the Delhi
goalie stunned and no chance to react. This helped Uttar Pradesh take the lead
further. With 2-0 on the board Delhi Waveriders attacked and half way into the
quarter Gurwinder Chandi from the baseline passed the ball to Lloyd Norris
Jones standing right in front of the goalkeeper. There was no defence
between them, hence a clear chance for him to open the score, but he missed it.
Minutes left into the quarter, Uttar Pradesh Wizards got their third penalty
corner, but this time Raghunath was wide of the goal. In the 45th minute
it was Delhi ’s
chance to convert through a penalty corner and Andrew Hayward ensured he hit
the ball past Sreejesh and helped his team open its account. At the end of the
quarter the score stood at 2-1 with the Wizards leading.
The fourth quarter saw the game changing gears as three back
to back goals were scored in a matter of three minutes. The equalizer goal for
Delhi Waveriders came in the 51st minute when Matt Ghodes entered the D
with the ball, beating two defenders before he hit the ball past Sreejesh
taking score to 2-2. The next minute the Delhi Waveriders took the lead in the
game with Simon Child scoring a brilliant field goal and the scorecard
stood at 3-2. Going immediately into the attack Uttar Pradesh got a chance
to equalize in the 53rd minute through a penalty corner and VR Raghunath
was on target and the ball found the nets taking the score to 3-3. With seven
minutes left it was any ones game from here. Both the teams tried taking the
lead in the game but failed to add any further goals to their tally and the
game ended in a draw 3-3.
Man of the Match, VR Raghunath, Uttar Pradesh Wizards said “It
was important for us to create opportunities in the form of penalty corners and
ensuring that we converted them into goals. It was equally necessary we
equalized post the defence lapse in the third quarter and I am happy we bounced
back.”
Speaking on the team’s performance Cedric D’Souza, Head
Coach, Delhi Waveriders said “The most important thing for us was to enter
the semi-finals in a winning momentum which did not happen today. The opponents
had a lot of counter attacks in the beginning. I am very happy with the team’s
performance today. We made a couple of mistakes and we will work on them and
come out as a solid unit.”
Hero Goal of the Match – Matt Gohdes, Delhi Waveriders
Man of the Match – V R Raghunath, Uttar Pradesh
Wizards
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