After a slow start, Pioneer Corps Training Command (PCTC) got into their groove as the match wore on and eventually powered to a 7-2 win over Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in the third phase of the D S Murthy and V Karunakaran memorial hockey tournament at the KSHA stadium here on Tuesday.

Senthil Mundu struck a brace for the victors. His goals came in the 21st and 67th minutes. Sairaj Singh (37th), S Kujur (54th), Manju (56th), C Aind (62nd) and Bheemaiah (65th) were the other scorers for the Army team.
For HAL, who called the shots for the better part of the first session, Abhinav Ganapathy (24th) and Lokaraj (30th) were on target.

In another tie, Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) scored a 2-0 win over Sports Authority of India ‘C’. After a barren first half, MLI shifted gears in the second session and pumped in two goals.

Ganesh Patil scored the first goal in the 44th minute and Amol Patil rounded off the tally nine minutes later.
SAI ‘A’ too ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline, losing by a similar margin to Army Service Corps. Deepu drew first blood for the victors in the third minute and Reha Bhengra scored the second in the 20th minute.
Though ASC relaxed a bit after the twin strikes, the SAI outfit just didn’t have the wherewithal to change the script.