Delhi Waveriders finally opened its account in this edition with a comprehensive 8-1 win over Uttar Pradesh Wizards at the Shivaji Stadium here on Wednesday, lifting itself up off the bottom place in the process.
Emphatic
This was, incidentally, more than the team had managed to score in its four games so far, as the former champion emphatically bounced back into contention.
Mandeep Singh was once again the star of the home side, scoring two field goals of his own and also creating a couple of penalty corners that went waste.
Mandeep was always at the right place at the right time.
Mandeep’s speedy runs
His speedy runs to snatch possession was a testament to the supreme levels of fitness of the Indian players, especially the juniors, outrunning most of the foreign stars.
One of those runs saw him racing Seve van Ass for the ball across the length of the field and winning, taking control of a diagonal pass from Talwinder Singh, turning and slotting the ball under P.R. Sreejesh’s legs in the third minute of the game itself.
Delhi had made its attacking intentions clear in the previous game against Punjab, but was off-target and misfiring.
Against UPW, the finishing was far better and the team looked decidedly far superior.
Delhi’s defence had already been among the most compact this season and it lived up to its reputation as Rupinder Pal Singh and Iain Lewers kept the UPW strikers at bay and Vincent Vanasche cleared anything dangerous, including two penalty corner attempts by Gonzalo Peillat.
In contrast, UPW attacked in bursts but was unable to make its chances count. P.R. Aiyappa and Shamsher Singh missed sitters each, as did Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh.
Reducing the margin
Raghunath did manage to reduce the margin, putting the ball into the net through PC but a second field goal by Mandeep five seconds before half time put the host in command.
As UPW stepped up the pace in search of goals, it left its defence open and Parvinder Singh, put through by Mandeep, and Austin Smith, set up by Talwinder, added their names to the scoresheets in the last four minutes as Sreejesh cut a lonely figure in the striking circle.
UPW seemed to have given up the battle towards the end but for a team desperate for its first win of the tournament, Delhi would be pleased with the result.
The result:
Delhi Waveriders 8 (Mandeep Singh 4 FG, Parvinder Singh 2 FG, Austin Smith 2 FG) bt Uttar Pradesh Wizards 1 (V.R. Raghunath 1 PC).
