Indian Oil, CRPF pull ahead

By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, DEC. 2. Indian Oil and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) pulled ahead of the rest of the pack as the race for two berths from Pool D for the 60th National hockey championships extended to the seventh and final day at the Mahindra Stadium.

The Indian Oil attacking machine moved into top gear to crush Gujarat 8-2, the biggest margin of victory in the pool so far ensuring it the second position after four matches (nine points, goal difference +8). CRPF was all over Tata Sports Club, finishing with a 3-0 victory which enabled it occupy the top spot (nine, +11) with Sunday's game remaining.

The top two have their task cut out - Indian Oil slated to take on Tatas (six points) in the concluding pool tie for both teams, followed by the CRPF versus Mumbai (six points) clash. A draw is enough for both pool D top two to qualify, putting them beyond the reach of the other contenders.

However, in the event of an upset result, the goal difference will determine the qualifiers from among these four. And then even Maharashtra (six points), which plays Gujarat (zero) in Sunday's opener, has an outside chance.

While these probabilities and calculations make for a Super Sunday, goalmouth action dominated the penultimate day's proceedings. Indian Oil, determined to erase the shocker at the hands of Maharashtra, went ahead through Hamza Mojtaba in the fifth minute. Gujarat equalised in the 13th minute, Mahendra Nepali converting the second penalty corner.

Hamza, who loves taking on defenders, hammered in his second goal of the match (2-1) as Indian Oil began darting all over the Gujarat half. Prabhjot Singh netted the third (3-1), but action shifted to the other end as Indian Oil goalkeeper Baljit Singh was unable to block a penalty corner conversion by Anand Sondkar, Gujarat's fourth of the match.

The match could have swung either way at this stage. However Gujarat, trailing 2-3, found itself at the receiving end of Indian Oil's multi-pronged attack which pumped in five more goals through Prabhjot Singh (two), Inderjeet Singh (two) and Lakhwinder Singh. The onslaught by the forwards even inspired goalkeeper Baljit to deny Gujarat's Sondkar a penalty stroke award.

CRPF is not prone to fluctuations in performance. The initial forays by Tatas were negated by the hard-working CRPF defenders before the swift counter-attacks began. It was left to Mukesh Kumar to prise open the Tatas defence in the 32nd minute, tapping home after Jolen Topno failed to connect a cross from left by V. Hembrum.

CRPF skipper Tanveer Jamal's timely deflection of a Mukesh Kumar shot off the sixth penalty corner signalled the beginning of the end for Tatas, which began losing possession of the ball frequently in an attempt to hit long passes. The desperate tactics backfired against the close-marking employed by CRPF, which consolidated the lead through Priyo Kumar and now awaits Mumbai in its concluding tie.

Sunday's matches: Maharashtra vs Gujarat (11.00 a.m.); Indian Oil vs Tatas (2.00 p.m.); Mumbai vs CRPF (4.00 p.m.).

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