Rail Coach Factory edge past Central Railway, 6-5 in DCB Aga Khan Hockey Tournament: Hockey Recap
In a nail-biting competition, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) of Kapurthala trounced Central Railway based in Mumbai by a single goal, 6-5. The pre-quarter-final match of the DCB Aga Khan Hockey Tournament concluded on a penalty shootout round that took place at
the Bombay Gymkhana Stadium.
The two teams opened the game quite maturely and got into the defensive circles of either side. However, both the teams failed to obtain a goal in the early minutes. In the 19th minute of the match, Roop Singh of RCF managed to take the ball inside
the circle and unleashed a powerful shot at the goal-post, opening the score at 1-0.
In a counter-strike, Deepak Lakra took the ball and made a lengthy run towards the downfield. However, he struck a feeble shot that was comfortably blocked from the opponent defensemen. Jaswinder Singh. the net-minder and skipper of the RCF easily cleared
the ball. The RCF side was playing a very fast game and doubled the tally when Kulbir Singh Senior tapped the ball after getting a pass on the left flank.
In spite of conceding two goals, the players of Central Railway team played disciplined game. In the 30th minute of the game. Ajaz Qureshi found himself on the finishing line and reduced the lead through a reverse flicking shot.
In the very next minute, Qureshi found another chance to make an equaliser, but failed to do so. First half of play was concluded with RCF hanging on to a single goal lead, 2-1.
In the second half of play, the Central Railway started more offensive game and carried out back-to-back attacks in search of an equaliser. Soon they were rewarded when Ather Mirza managed to take the ball at the top of the circle and ripped a powerful hit
that sailed comfortably into the RCF goal. The equal results increased the suspense of the game.
The players from Central Railway adopted more aggressive strategies and dominated the field with the ball possession. Navneet Swarnakar made an outstanding shot from the right flank, with giving Jaswinder no chance to block the ball. Central Railway for
the first time established their lead in the game. However, the lead could not last for long. With seconds left on the clock, the RCF side earned a penalty corner and had it all even by scoring third goal. The three-all deadlock forced the two sides to move
into the penalty shoot-out stage.
In the shoot-out stage, Navneet Swarnakar and Nilesh Mane scored one goal each for Central Railway, while Gagandeep and Simrandeep Singh managed it for RCF. However, Avesh Ansari missed the chance while Simrandeep Singh did not and sealed the RCF victory
at 3-2 penalty shoot-outs.
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