Dabang Mumbai’s quest for a home win in the Hero Hockey India League 2015 didn’t happen, as it suffered a 3-1 loss against Delhi Waveriders.
Simon Child eluded his markers twice for goals and Jason Wilson swept home a field goal at the Mahindra stadium.
Drag flicker Harmanpreet Singh injected some buzz for the host with a penalty conversion late in the fourth quarter, reducing the 2-0 deficit, only for Delhi to bang in the third off a counter-attack. The visitors have two wins now from five games, Dabang Mumbai remain at the bottom.
Hoping to make an impact in front of home fans, the red shirts tried their best but failed to shake up the Delhi defence.
Mumbai was caught sleeping in the fourth minute when the visitors struck via Simon Child. Rupinder swept a long pass towards the rival goalmouth. Walmiki tapped the ball for unmarked teammate to trap and sound the boards with an angular reverse hit along the turf. The defence waited for goalkeeper Adrian to deal with the threat, the forward took his time to find the target.
Two penalty corners won by Mumbai back-to-back did not produce any goals, both sides walked off at half-time as if holding back energy. The home team goalkeeper Adrian, playing instead of David Harte, needed to prove his worth, so did the red shirts in defence. Boon got a close look at Delhi goal in the third quarter, his reverse hit on the run flew wide.
After three quarters of controlled play, both teams focused on pulling back men into defensive positions on losing possession, the game moved into the last quarter. The onus was on Mumbai to step up pace, in rhythm with pulsing drumbeats from the stands. Child struck again, squeezing the ball home through a narrow gap between the post and custodian.
The result: Delhi Waveriders 3 (Simon Child 4 and 47, Jason Wilson 58) bt Dabang Mumbai (Harmanpreet Singh 50). Man of Match: Gurbaj Singh (Delhi) .
