Mumbai Magicians got its act together in its ninth and penultimate game in the Hero Hockey India League resulting in a 3-2 win over Kalinga Lancers on Sunday.
Captain Glenn Turner was inspirational upfront as usual, and his teammates respondend. Turner’s pace and physical play, and his drive to chase down passes and confidence to forage alone with control and quick change of direction which troubled the Kalinga defence earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
The Aussie set the tone with a 17th minute field goal. After the ball rebounded off the custodian from his first attempt, he trapped again, made space and shot home.
Mumbai kept creating chances in the second quarter but could not make the final pass. Penalty corners were created, but Harjot Singh stood firm under the bar.
Finally, Mark Gleghorne converted the side’s fourth corner in the 33rd minute, dragging the ball high into the net.
Mumbai forwards put pressure on the Kalinga defence by closing in on the man with the ball. The visitors struggled to knit together enough passes and frequently lost possession.
Then, in the 43rd minute Devinder Walmiki got space and time on the left flank to relay the ball across to the right for Mohd Nizamuddin, who took advantage of a shifting defence and finish off the move with a sideways flick to open the account for the visitors.
Mumbai’s third goal came in the 57th minute thanks to Ravi Pal’s quick thinking at the left post. Sarvanjit scooped the ball sideways for the unmarked Ravi to stoop and scoop high into the net.
Kalinga fought back, and Lucas Villa caught the defence napping with a first-time deflection in the very next minute, but the fight ended there.
The result: Mumbai Magicians 3 (Glenn Turner 17, Mark Gleghorne 33, Ravi Pal 57) bt Kalinga Lancers 2 (Mohd Nizamuddin 43 Lucas Villa 58).
