Waveriders start with a win

January 26, 2014 12:51 am | Updated May 13, 2016 12:22 pm IST - MOHALI:

First salvo: Talwinder Singh shoots home the opening goal for Delhi Wave Riders. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

First salvo: Talwinder Singh shoots home the opening goal for Delhi Wave Riders. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

The attractive settings suited the festive mood and Delhi Waveriders rode on Jason Wilson’s brace to overcome a solid Jaypee Punjab Warriors 3-1 in an engrossing match to collect the first points of the Hero Hockey India League (HIL) Season II at the newly-built International Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.

Before the start of the league, Warriors had made its intentions clear. It kept its promise by resorting to precise passing and making several sound raids to the Waveriders post in the first quarter.

The foundation of Warriors’ domination was its superb control over the ball.

The host narrowly missed the target on a couple of occasions. A seventh minute penalty corner attempt by Sandeep Singh was deflected away from a defender’s stick, while Augustin Mazzilli’s cross from left went wide from Shivendra Singh.

Waveriders defenders, led by Andres Mir Bel, Tristan White and Rupinderpal Singh, kept their cool and moved well to guard their post.

Waveriders got two short corners on either side of the first break, but Rupinderpal could not make it count.

Waveriders added pace to its forward line in the second quarter and Talwinder Singh capped a coordinated effort to give Waveriders the crucial lead.

However, Warriors restored parity soon when Affan Yousuf’s swift strike beat Waveriders’ goalkeeper Hamish McGreger about two minutes before half-time. This goal apart it turned out to be a fine day for McGreger.

Akashdeep orchestrated Waveriders’ second goal. He dribbled past a few rival defenders from the left and fed an unmarked Jason Wilson to complete the formalities.

Waveriders maintained patience and retained its controlled over the game. Aussie import Wilson again appeared from nowhere to utilize another opportune moment in the Punjab circle to slot home the third one.

Warriors spoiled a chance to close the gap when it failed to convert a penalty corner in the dying minutes.

The result: Delhi Waveriders 3 (Talwinder Singh 29, Jason Wilson 47, 68) bt Jaypee Punjab Warriors 1 (Affan Yousuf 33). Man-of-the-match: Hamish McGreger.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.