Lucknow: After a successful run of four wins and one draw, table-toppers Jaypee Punjab Warriors tasted their first defeat in Hero Hockey India League 2015 against Uttar Pradesh Wizards at Dhyan Chand Sports College in Lucknow where the home team beat them 2-1. It was VR Raghunath and Ramandeep Singh who stood tall and scored for their team whereas title-contender Jaypee Punjab Warriors’ captain Jamie Dwyer scored the lone goal for his team.
In the first quarter, host team Uttar Pradesh Wizards outplayed the visitors with their spirited performance and attacking moves, which stunned the opponents’ camp. Seven minutes into the game, UP Wizards drew first blood when they counter-attacked on Jaypee Punjab Warriors’ half and earned a penalty corner. Penalty corner specialist VR Raghunath received the pass and he smashed the ball hard into the box, beating Jaap Stockmann and scoring the first goal of the match.
Leading the game 2-0 Uttar Pradesh Wizards entered the second quarter of the game with an edge over the opponents. Both the teams stepped on the turf with more passion and attacked each other’s halves. However, the presence of world’s two best goalkeepers – Jaap Stockmann and PR Sreejesh, on both sides foiled the chances and quarter ended without the scorecard being touched. At the end of first half the hosts were still leading 2-0.
In the third quarter, host team charged again with better strategies and maintained control over the ball. They managed to come close to converting the goals but failed to do so on every occasion. The same quarter saw UP Wizards forward players Nikkin Thimmaiah and Gunasekar missing close chances to score goals as on both ocassions Jaap Stokmann stood like a wall in front of the goal-post. After the tensed quarter, the score-board stood 2-0 as UP Wizards maintained their dominance on the match.
After the match, Jaypee Punjab Warriors Coach Barry Dancer addressed the post-match press conference, "UP Wizards were a better side today and full credit goes to the them especially after losing yesterday's match and coming back strong today. I am disappointed with our performance as we gave away goals in the initial stage itself and handed over the lead to the opponents. Performance was not consistent at all and we will have to cooperate even better than our opponents in the league."
Hero Goal of the Match: Ramandeep Singh, Uttar Pradesh Wizards
Match of the Match: Ramandeep Singh, Uttar Pradesh Wizards
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