Jaypee Punjab Warriors finally made a come-back 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 Rays and Jaypee Punjab Warriors 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 Rays 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 Rays was leading at the end of first quarter.
Ranchi Rays took control of the proceedings for the major
part of the first two quarters and made several forays into the Jaypee Punjab
Warriors’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 Ranchi Rays 1-0 at
the end of first half.
With the change of ends, the game became more intense with
Jaypee Punjab Warriors struggling for a much needed equalizer. Although, the
two teams tried creating chances into each other’s D, Jaypee Punjab Warriors
managed a penalty corner opportunity but Bharat Chetri playing the replacement
of Jaap Stockman in this match, saved for his team.
With the passing time, Ranchi 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 Rays soaked up everything that was thrown at
them, Jaypee Punjab Warriors finally made a comeback and showcased its better
side by scoring two goals in three minutes. In search of opening their
scorecard, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, 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 Jaypee Punjab Warriors in 49th
minute, leveling the score to 2-2.
But this equalizer was short-lived as in the 51st minute
Ranchi Rays struck their third goal, coming from the stick of Stanli Minz and
taking the score to 3-2.
With this, an exceptional game of Hero Hockey India League
ended in a nail biting finish where Ranchi Rays won the match against Jaypee
Punjab Warriors 3-2.
Man of the Match and Captain, Ranchi Rays, 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
semi-final and finals stage.”
Speaking on the win, Head Coach Harendra Singh, Ranchi rays 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.”
Head Coach Barry Dancer, Jaypee Punjab
Warriors 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”.
Hero Goal of the Match – Satbir Singh, Jaypee Punjab
Warriors
Man of the Match – Ashley Jackson, Ranchi Rays
HIL Press release
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