Indian Bank were good value for their straightforward 3-1 win over Central Excise that saw them reach the final of the IOB-Syed Ahmed memorial all-India hockey tournament, co-sponsored by Nissan, here on Saturday.
After a sloppy start, the bank team had the full measure of Central Excise and deservedly took the lead in the 14th minute following which they played with a touch of assuredness that seemed as though they knew they were destined to win.
The second semi-final was a much closer affair wherein both the contestants — Army XI and South Central Railway — treated the capacity crowd to a humdinger of a match.
Army XI advanced to the final only by the skin of their teeth after they were pushed to the brink by a resurgent SCR.
Penalty strokes were required to decide the winner. In the shootout, the Army team held their nerves to prevail 4-2. The match finished 2-2 in the regulation time.
On paper, both Indian Bank and Central Excise looked evenly matched cancelling out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Both the teams started off cautiously knowing that a place in the final was at stake and were intent on playing it safe before launching a full-frontal attack.
This strategy paid dividends for the bank team as they went ahead courtesy of a brilliant field goal by Gnanavel, who scampered off at a breathtaking pace leaving behind all the dumbstruck Excise players in his trail to score a memorable goal.
Excise team’s Laxman Karan, who was the chief-architect of their win over Lucknow on Friday, was at it again.
He equalised through a penalty corner with 14 minutes remaining on the clock. With penalty shootout looming, Deepak of Indian Bank converted a short corner to put his team on top in the 61st minute.
In three minutes, Gnanavel put the result beyond any doubt with a third goal after Excise full-back Francis made a clumsy tackle on Maria Stalin inside the D and conceded the ensuing penalty.
Fortunes fluctuated thick and fast between Army XI and SCR in the second semi-final. Captain of Army XI Eliazek Lakara led from the front with a flawless performance and gave his team the lead at the half-hour mark.
Lakara executed a field goal, dodging past two defenders on the right wing before guiding the ball past a hapless Pfokrelo.
Innocent Kullu of SCR made the score 1-1 soon after the half-time when he thudded the ball in from a PC. As the match was nearing its end both the teams scored a goal apiece to make it 2-2.
In the penalty shootout, Army XI goalkeeper P.T. Rao made a couple of excellent saves that went a long way towards helping his team enter the final.
Chittaranjan, Mukesh Lakra, Sunil Ekka and Reniel Singh were the scorers for Army XI while Aleem and Poonacha converted for SCR.
Results: Indian Bank 3 (Gnanavel 2, Deepak) bt Central Excise 1 (Laxman Karan). Army XI 2 (Eliazek Lakara, Arumugam) bt SCR (Innocent Kullu, Nitin Shekar). Armay XI defeated SCR 4-2 on penalty strokes.
Action today: Final: Indian Bank vs Army XI (6 pm).