Bright as the orange uniforms they wore was the performance. Bangalore Hi-Fliers roared like the lions they are. When the hooter went off for the final time in the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League here, Hi-Fliers' joy knew no bounds as they were celebrating a 2-1 win over Chandigarh Dynamos in the deciding final at the Sector 42 stadium to win the title.
Hi-Fliers' Friday's title triumph was a repeat of the second edition of the league when they had defeated Dynamos at the same stadium in 2006.
The Bangalore team, which also won the fairplay award, was a picture of domination. Absolute control of the proceedings from the start to the finish of the contest was the highlight of the victory. It was a pleasing sight to watch each and every player stick to his job well. Fliers’ positive display right through the game ensured that they were going home with the winners' cheque of Rs 40 lakh. Dynamos received Rs 20 lakh, while losing semifinalists Orissa Steelers and Hyderabad Sultans pocketed Rs five lakh each.
Smashing show
Team show was the highlight no doubt but there were several instances of individuals coming up with smashing performances that made the difference. Drag-flicker Len Aiyappa and Korean You Hyo-sik scored the goals. Man of the match Bharat Kumar Chetri, the goalkeeper, and man of the tournament Arjun Halappa were the ones who made the difference. Aiyappa not only scored but also played a heroic part in the defence with fellow defender Ajay Kumar Saroha, who played with a bandaged forehead from an injury in the first final. Had it not been for the defence put up by the two along with Chetri, the script would perhaps have been different.
Vital role
Another reason Hi-Fliers won was the fact that they controlled the midfield well. Halappa played a vital role in the midfield and fed numerous passes to the frontline.
The Bangalore team attacked with vigour throughout. Skipper Tushar Khandekar, SV Sunil and GM Hariprasad all kept the rival defence on their toes. Sandeep Michael, with an injured foot, still managed to do some good running and the whole bunch gave the Dynamos some tense moments. You Hyo-sik made an important contribution too.  For the local team, nothing went well. The forwardline of Deepak Thakur, Rajpal Singh and Inderjit Chadha tried their level best but it was just not their day. The trio have troubled Hi-Fliers' defence in the first and second finals but nothing was going right for them on Friday. Rajpal sent in several crosses from outside the Hi-Fliers' striking circle. Sadly, all the sliding and diving from Thakur to deflect the ball in did not work. He was simply out of position most of the time. At other times, his shots were wild and nowhere towards the goal.
Neat flick
With the lion's share of possession, Hi-Fliers were able to force a penalty corner in the 32nd minute and went ahead through Aiyappa. This was one of the best short corner conversions the team has executed in the tournament. A neat flick, which did not go too high, and Hi-Fliers were celebrating their lead.
Much later, in the 62nd minute, Korean You increased the lead for Hi-Fliers.
The move was initiated in the midfield from Halappa, who passed to Hariprasad on the right flank. Hariprasad dribbled the ball into the circle and took a shot at the goal. You was positioned close to the goalline and he tapped the ball, which went in after touching the leg of a rival defender.
Highest scorer
Dynamos' drag-flick specialist Sandeep Singh pulled one back for his team with just one minute to go and emerged the highest scorer in the event with nine goals.
Desperate attempts to score from Dynamos were of no use as the hooter went off and the Hi-Fliers were soon doing their traditional winning slide in front of a packed stadium.