Ranchi Rays, smarting from the loss to Kalinga Lancers in its first match, rebounded with a 2-1 away victory over Dabang Mumbai in the Hero Hockey India League 2015 here on Saturday.
The yellow jerseys soaked up pressure early on with tight defending, kept the ball rolling despite being a goal down at the Mahindra stadium before Barry Middleton came up with two goals in the third quarter to seal victory. Tom Boon had earlier put the blue shirts in front.
Middleton produced hockey’s equivalent of football’s overhead kick to steal the spotlight from Dabang Mumbai. Manpreet Singh slipped a pass to his teammate from England, whose trap-turn-strike with his back to the goal caught the home team defence unawares.
The Ranchi match-winner had tapped home the first goal, remaining wide off his marker to pounce on a rebound off the post for an easy 39th minute tap-in.
Mumbai went into its second home tie with Glen Turner donning the captain’s armband, following a successful debut as skipper by Vikram Pillay in the opener against Punjab Warriors. This is a continuation of the rotating captaincy initiated by the host.
The clean-shaven Aussie is proactive on the field, running into space for passes and has the ability to receive the ball even as he keeps the defenders at bay.
The first quarter produced no goals, though it was marked by a pacy game and network of passes. Goalkeepers got a chance to stretch themselves facing a penalty corner each. Ranchi was more effective on the break and created more openings.
The quality of play dipped in the second quarter. The visitors pulled men behind the ball and denied space to the home forwards, for whom skipper Turner and Arjun Halappa made diagonal runs, though no passes came their way.
Forwards got into the groove by the third quarter. Boon reacted first and induced a glimmer of excitement with a 38th minute strike. HIL’s highest paid player floated into space around the right post for a pass, and by the time Ranchi reacted the Belgian was two moves ahead, trapping and sweeping home.
The visitors levelled in the next minute. Middleton tapped home a rebound off the post onto the board. The England midfielder’s spectacular second goal was contested by Mumbai for a foot infringement, though television replays vindicated the umpire’s decision.
Ranchi chose to refer a penalty corner decision in the fourth quarter and won.
The scores: Ranchi Rays 2 (Barry Middleton 39, 45) beat Dabang Mumbai 1 (Tom Boon 38).
Man of Match: Manpreet Singh (Ranchi).
