ONGC defeat IOC by 5-2 to ride into DCB Aga Khan Hockey Cup final: Hockey Recap
In the one-sided semi-finals, the Delhi’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) took Bangalore’s Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) by 5-2 and set a spot in the finals of the DCB Aga Khan Hockey Cup. The one-sided contest was held at the Bombay Gymkhana Hockey
Stadium, where international players assisted the ONGC to move into the title-claiming fight.
The two teams opened the game quite maturely and executed well passes in the early minutes. However, the defensemen from the two sides were very active and blocked all the strikes. The ONGC dominated the field with the impressive ball control and hardly
missed the ball at any occasion. They were playing like a one team and carried out several attacks with outstanding passes.
In the sixth minute of the first half, ONGC's Akashdeep Singh managed to take the ball at the top of the circle and struck a reverse flick to net the goal. The IOC goalie had no chance to stop the ball. Following the first goal, the speed of the game reduced
and both teams went on the defensive mode.
In the slow game, Javed Shaikh, the referee, awarded a stroke to IOC when Akashdeep committed a foul with V Raghunath. With the seconds left into the first half, Diwakar converted a penalty stroke and doubled the tally. The opening period ended with IOC
trailing by two goals, 2-0.
In the second half of play, the both squads started offensive style of game, as one wanted to level the score while other wanted to expand the lead. In the 43rd minute of the match, Prabhjot Singh tapped the pass into the ONGC goal received from
Raghunath. However, the score did not remain same for long, as Akashdeep in the very next minute scored another goal to retain their two-goal edge, 3-1.
In another attack, the IOC received their second goal in the 49th minute of the match when Roshan Minz touched the rebound into the goal and decreased the lead to a single goal. In the remaining time period, the ONGC started more speedy game and
scored another two goals. Akashdeep unleashed a powerful drag flick at the goal in the 66th minute of the game. In the later time, Bikash Toppo notched another goal to seal their convincing victory at 5-2.
ONGC will face Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in the finals of the DCB Aga Khan Hockey Cup on Saturday May 20, 2011.
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