It was no doubt a tough match for Bangalore Hi-Fliers against Sher-e-Jallandhar. Both sides missed umpteen numbers of chances. But Hi-Fliers upped their game a few notches higher at crucial moments to emerge 2-1 winners to enter the semifinals of the Premier Hockey League here on Sunday.
Hi-Fliers finished their league engagements with 14 points from six matches and are on top of the table. Sher-e-Jallandhar have five points from as many matches.
Going by the form they have shown in the tournament so far, Hi-Fliers look good to make it to the final stages of the tournament. The Bangalore team made several good moves and the whole team did quite well when it came to building attacks. However, the goal attempts did not yield much. One person to stand out was midfielder Arjun Halappa, whose splendid effort earned him the man of the match award. There were some very close ones for Hi-Fliers like the one in the 14th minute when a pass from GM Hariprasad to Oliver Rutgers was squandered away by the latter with an open goal in front of him.

Shers too were not a dormant lot. With the likes of Jarnail Singh, who has put up a great show in the tournament so far, former Indian captain Gagan Ajit Singh and Yudhvir Singh in their ranks, they were always good to go against any defence line-up.

But on the day, Gagan did not make much of an impression. The best chance they had was when Jarnail sent a cross from the left flank towards the goal.

Their Dutch player Don Prins made a sliding attempt to deflect the ball in but missed the ball in the 40th minute. Hi-Fliers’ goalkeeper Bharat Kumar Chetri did a good job under the bar and he was ably assisted by the team's defenders. Hi-Fliers' drag-flicker Len Aiyappa put the team ahead after converting the team's third and last penalty corner in the 48th minute. Aiyappa's flick saw the ball keep to the ground but was good enough to get past Shers' Pakistani goalkeeper Salman Akbar.

With a narrow lead, Hi-Fliers were a cautious lot. But they were soon smiling when their Korean forward You Hyo-sik scored the second goal in the 67 th minute. You Hyo-sik moved into the circle with the ball and passed to Dutchman Sebastian Westerhout, who ran close to the goal on the left flank.

Meanwhile, You had moved deep inside the circle and in front of the goal. He then received a pass from Westerhout and it was no big task for the Korean to score.

Two minutes thence, Gurvinder Singh pulled one back for Shers. He got the ball in a crowded circle and shot home rather easily. More attempts from the Shers to force the match into extra time proved futile.

Dynamos score

Later, Chandigarh Dynamos defeated Maratha Warriors 1-0. Dynamos have 12 points from five matches. They are assured of a spot in the semifinals. The lone goal for Dynamos was scored by Sher Singh in the 26th minute. Rajpal Singh was adjudged Man of the match.

Monday's match:
Chandigarh Dynamos vs Chennai Veerans (4.30 pm).