Canara Bank hold PCTC
BEML thump DYSS ‘A’ 3-0 to clinch ‘B’ Division title
Canara Bank and Pioneer Corps Training Centre shared the honours as they drew 1-1 the first match of the KSHA-Ozonegroup Super Division Hockey league championship here at the KSHA stadium.
Saran Lakra drew first blood for PCTC in the 54th minute while Muddappa hit back for Canara Bank two minutes later. Both the teams tried to gain dominance from the start, adopting attacking methods. PCTC had greater control as Sunil Ekka and Saran Lakra made inroads into the opposition defence. Dinesh Kumar made a couple of attempts but the seasoned Bharat Chhetri foiled both.
For Canara Bank, Somanna and Appanna combined really well. Appanna repeatedly tested the PCTC defence with his fast-paced runs on the right flank and incisive one-twos with Somanna.
They came pretty close to hitting the back of the net a few times, only to be thwarted by an alert M Chandu of PCTC.
In the second-half, Canara Bank approached the task with renewed vigour with Ronald Kiran and Deepak feeding Somanna and Muddappa. The wave of attacks was relentless as Appanna and Somanna came quite close to striking. But it was Lakra who eventually struck the first goal for PCTC in the 54th minute after some sloppy defence from Canara Bank.
Muddappa then brought Canara Bank level in the 56th minute, latching on to an excellent cross from Somanna.
Earlier, BEML defeated DYSS ‘A’ 3-0 to clinch the top spot in ‘B’ Division, with Ramesh slamming in a hat-trick of goals.
Result: Super division: PCTC : 1 (Saran Lakra 54th) drew Canara Bank : 1 (Muddappa 56th); HT: 0-0. ‘B’ division: BEML, Bangalore: 3 (Ramesh 14th, 22nd, 54th) bt DYSS ‘A’: 0
