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Babasaheb Ambedkar Hockey: Minutes away from final whistle, Hoshangabad snatch win from Itarsi
Encounter between the two neighbouring teams from Madhya Pradesh was evenly matched
In a nail-biting fourth quarter, two teams from Madhya Pradesh went head-to-head during the Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial All India Hockey Tournament in Balewadi on Thursday. Hoshangabad defeated Itarsi 3-2 after seizing a goal to gain the lead in the opening game of the league phase, which includes a total of five teams.
The encounter between the two neighbouring teams from Madhya Pradesh was evenly matched. Hoshangabad’s Amit was the first to launch an attack, but it was well saved by the Itarsi keeper Swapnil. Itarsi midfielder Shaun was the next one to try, as he struck the ball towards the goal post, but none of the Itarsi attackers managed to get the opening goal.
Hoshangabad’s Shanu Ali got on the ball and tried a similar manoeuvre which also resulted in the same outcome, as no Hoshangabad players could guide the ball into the net. Hoshangabad kept pressing and denied Itarsi an opportunity to execute a counterattack as they intercepted the ball midfield. Hoshangabad’s Naresh paced down the right flank and his cross reached Amit, but the striker could not bring it under control as Itarsi survived another attack.
Itarsi finally managed to launch a counter-attack, and ended up winning the first penalty corner of the game. Harshdeep Singh whipped the ball towards Shaun, who slotted his strike brilliantly past the Hoshangabad keeper to give Itarsi a crucial lead. Hoshangabad almost responded with a goal, but the Itarsi defence seemed well aware of the threat and the opportunity was cleared.
Hoshangabad launched a few more attacks, but all of them were nullified by the Itarsi defence as the first quarter ended with Itarsi in possession of a slender one-goal lead.
Itarsi’s attacker Aditya launched an early attack in the opening stages of the second quarter, but his effort was thwarted by the Hoshangabad defence. Itarsi’s attack seemed pretty lackadaisical in front of the goal as they failed to convert plenty of opportunities. Hoshangabad capitalised on the missed opportunities to restore parity in the second quarter as Naresh went down the left flank and beat his marker, before slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs.
Itarsi’s goalkeeper Swapnil made three consecutive saves to deny Hoshangabad the lead as the scoreline was deadlocked at 1-1 at the end of the second quarter.
Itarsi were back on the attack in the third quarter. The constant pressure paid off when Harishpal received the ball from midfield and was left completely unmarked right in front of the goal. The attacker made no mistake and had the ball go past a helpless keeper to give Itarsi the lead again. Itarsi’s striker Aniket wasted another opportunity to push his team into a two-goal lead as he failed to control the ball inside the penalty area.
Towards the end of the third quarter, Hoshangabad won their first penalty corner of the game. The ball reached Durgesh who smashed a powerful shot past the Itarsi defence and levelled the game again.
In the fourth and final quarter of the game, both teams looked equally matched. There was hesitation in attack as the nervy sides did not want to concede a goal on the counter attack. Spectators experienced a cagey game in the final quarter. Itarsi won another penalty corner, but were denied a goal after an excellent save from keeper Satyam.
On the counter, Hoshangabad won their second penalty corner of the game. Mohammad Siraj received the ball and made no mistake in converting his opportunity and giving his side the lead for the first time in the game, two minutes away from the final whistle. Hoshangabad held on to the advantage and bagged a win in their first game of the tournament.
QUOTES:
Kanhaiya Guryani, coach, Itarsi
Our forwards were really weak today and the opponents capitalised on that. We were good with the penalty corners and now we have to focus on overall improvement for the next game.
Sonu Achirwar, coach, Hoshangabad
I’m a player myself and we’ve played against them before. The pitch was a little slippery and the players played a reserved game. We made our passes stick and that is what helped us.
