JOIN USHard fought win for PNB
Riding on a determined second-half performance, Punjab National Bank (PNB) registered a come from behind 4-2 victory over Army Red in their Ozone Group-National hockey league clash at the KSHA stadium on Monday.
Ajitesh Roy struck in the ninth minute for PNB while second half goals from Yudhvir Singh (51st), Damandeep Singh (57th) and Shivdeep (62nd) helped them complete formalities. Dhananjay Mahadik (3rd) and Rajesh Kumar (18th) scored Army Red’s goals.
Army started off well with Mahadik’s penalty stroke, in the third minute, giving them an unexpected early lead. Shaking off the rust, the Bankmen got on with the job and the opportunistic Ajitesh equalised in the ninth minute off a pass from Ravinder Twetia.
The Army forwardline was in fine fettle with Armugam, Sunil Ekka combining well along with Mahadik. But it was Rajesh Kumar who took them ahead in the 18th minute, slotting the ball home off a Chittaranjan cross from the left.
PNB tried to level with Arjun Antil coming close in the 32nd-minute, dodging three defenders in the centre but missed the target by a whisker. Army went into the half-time with the lead.
The men from Punjab were a transformed outfit after the break looking ruthless in their approach. Yudhvir latched onto a Damandeep pass in the 51st minute to fire the ball past Army custodian Najmudeen.
In the 57th minute, Damandeep was in action as he cut through the Army defence to smash from the right, clearing Najmudeen. With a 3-2 lead, PNB went for the kill and Shivdeep’s goal in the 62nd minute off a Jalwinder Singh pass was the nail in the coffin.
Results: IOCL: 5 (Gurjinder Singh 6th, 53rd, Deepak Thakur 11th, Roshan Minz 16th, Imran Khan 67th) bt IAF: 2 (Harwant Singh 29th, Amanpreet Singh 69th); PNB: 4 (Ajitesh Roy 9th, Yudhvir Singh 51st, Damandeep Singh 57th, Shivdeep 62nd) bt Army Red: 2 (Dhananjay Mahadik 3rd, Rajesh Kumar 18th).