The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Steelers enters semifinals

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Friday, Jan 04, 2008
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Steelers enters semifinals

Special Correspondent

CHANDIGARH: Sher-e-Jalandhar, known for its aggressive play, put up a meek display to bow out of the ESPN Premier Hockey League at the Sector 42 Stadium here on Thursday.

In a match that it dominated right through, Orissa Steelers gave an efficient demonstration to take its appointed place in the semifinals with a 2-0 victory.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Steelers will meet Bangalore Hi-Fliers, while Hyderabad Sultans will take on Chandigarh Dynamos.

Jalandhar faced an onerous task of making it to the next round.

With most of its players struggling for form, Jalandhar was dependent on Gagan Ajit Singh and Kanwalpreet Singh to show the way.

If they failed, the credit lay with some robust performance by Man of the Match Birendra Lakra, Kim Chul, Shakeel Abbasi and Diederik for the Steelers.

Lakra was a menace every time he had the possession, while Kim Chul was a rock in the defence.

Abbasi worked hard in the midfield and Diederik staved off a couple of incisive raids by Jalandhar in the last two quarters when Yudhvir Singh came up with some inspired runs.

Tireless worker

Jugraj Singh was a tireless worker for Jalandhar but he lacked the spark to fashion a revival for his team which was lagging in goal difference in comparison to the Steelers.

A big margin victory would have placed Jalandhar in the reckoning, but Steelers ensured there were no such alarms.

Jalandhar showed urgency with a first-minute raid but Steelers gradually controlled the game with its neat combination.

After a barren first-quarter, Steelers struck in the second when Ignace Tirkey scored a sensation goal.

Latching on to a through pass, he moved up and from just inside the circle and found the mark with a stinging reverse flick. It was as good a goal as you would get to see.

Scoring with a flourish

In the third quarter, Lakra scored with a flourish when he gave finishing touches to a Roshan Minz move.

Lakra hit hard and the ball found its way into the goal despite striking the goalkeeper’s pads.

“Good we won by a decent margin because it would give the team confidence for the semifinal match. We did feel the pressure initially but I am glad we could stick to our plans,” Steelers skipper Dilip Tirkey said.

Jalandhar did well to earn a penalty corner six minutes from the end and one more in the last minute.

But the hooter went off even as Kanwalpreet Singh shaped to take a shot. The tournament director, Kuku Walia, rightly instructed that the penalty-corner sequence should continue till the ‘attacking side’ committed an infringement or the ball went out. The Jalandhar side eventually failed to cash in.

It suited Steelers, for a goal at that stage would have forced it to have a tie-breaker with Hyderabad Sultans to decide the third and fourth place.

“We should have created more penalty corners,” conceded Kanwalpreet after Jalandhar disappointed a sizeable audience.

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