Hi-Fliers rallies past Dynamos

Dec 26:  Former champion Bangalore Hi-Fliers made a resilient fightback as they rallied to beat local favourites Chandigarh Dynamos 3-2 after trailing down from two goals in a league match of the 4th Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Stadium here on Tuesday.

Dynamos scored two quick goals in a span of three minutes to surge ahead after defying two early raids by Fliers team. Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh converted two short-corners into stunning goals (10th and 12th minutes) in the very first quarter for Dynamos to get a stranglehold on the match.

Trailing by two goals Bangalore Hi-Fliers team conjured up their resources to exert pressure in the rival citadel and their efforts paid off when Bangalore pulled one back in the 23rd minute through short corner.

Chandigarh goalkeeper Baljit Singh blocked Len Aiyappa’s low drag-flick, but Bangalore’s Korean import, You Hyo-sik, latched on the rebound to make it 1-2.

From thereon the Bangalore team never looked back as they scored the parity goal in the 37th through Hyo-sik. Korean player was the livewire of the match with his searing runs and precision passes. Hyo-sik was later declared man of the match.

Bimal Lakra alongwith Vikramkanth and Vinay dominated the midfield as they fed their forwards regularly. Hi-Fliers sustained the pressure on the Chandigarh goal and forced their fourth and last short corner in the 67th minute to seal the fate of the match. Cheyanna scored the winning goal off a short corner melee.

Sher-e-Jallandhar edges past Warriors

In another match of the day, Sher-e-Jallandhar cut short the victory march of Maratha Warriors 5-4 in sudden death and garnered two points. Both teams were tied 1-1 in the regulation time as well as the extra-time of 10 minutes.

In sudden death, Gurvinder Chandi converted for Shers, while Shivender was successful for Maratha Warriors.

Next Sarvanjit Singh found the target for Shers, while Shivender failed for Warriors with Shers’ custodian Salman Akbar of Pakistan saving his first shot and then forcing him to shoot wide in his second attempt in the eight seconds allowed for each stroke.