Bhubaneswar, Jan 22 (IANS) Soorma Hockey Club registered a 6–1 victory against the SG Pipers in their final group stage match of the Men’s Hockey India League (HIL) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. However, they failed to advance, falling narrowly short of what was necessary to make the grade.
Needing a seven-goal win to seal their spot in Qualifier 2, Soorma made a high-intensity start, led by Jeremy Hayward’s (2’, 7’, 34’, 45’) thunderous drag flicks and a counter-attacking strike from Lucas Martinez (11’). Nicolas Keenan (47’) later helped Soorma move into touching distance of qualification in the final quarter, but the SG Pipers held on in the dying minutes to break Soorma’s hopes of advancing to the Qualifiers.
JSW Soorma Hockey Club began the game on the front foot, forcing the Pipers back early and earning a penalty corner within the opening minutes. Hayward stepped up and powered his flick into the right corner to give Soorma a flying start.
The pressure continued as Soorma attacked relentlessly from the flanks while employing a high press to suffocate the Pipers. Moments later, another penalty corner followed, and Hayward once again beat Pipers’ goalkeeper Tomas Santiago to double the lead.
The Pipers made occasional forays into Soorma territory but were unable to threaten the defence. Soorma, meanwhile, kept the pressure on. With five minutes left in the quarter, Gurjant Singh won possession high up the pitch and played the ball to Lucas Martinez, who calmly slotted into an open goal to make it 3–0.
Soorma continued to dominate possession in the second quarter, while the Pipers adopted a defence-first approach, sitting deep to prevent the scoreline from escalating further. That strategy brought some respite, with the Pipers beginning to test Soorma goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch through a few sporadic attempts, though they could not find a breakthrough.
In the third quarter, Soorma switched tactics by employing long aerials to stretch the Pipers’ defence. The pressure soon resulted in another penalty corner, and Jeremy Hayward unleashed a thunderous flick into the bottom corner, too quick for defender Jarmanpreet Singh to stop.
Towards the end of the quarter, the Pipers enjoyed a rare spell of possession, rotating the ball across their backline before earning their first penalty corner. Tomas Domene made it count with a low flick to the left corner to beat Soorma goalkeeper Mohith HS. However, a foul by Pawan soon handed Soorma a penalty stroke, which Hayward converted confidently to the right, restoring a four-goal advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Soorma stepped up the intensity further in the fourth quarter with an unrelenting press, which paid dividends as Nicolas Keenan reacted quickest to smash it home after a saved shot, bringing Soorma within touching distance of qualification. The Pipers also threatened intermittently, with Manjeet testing Mohith with a reverse shot on goal. With four minutes remaining, the Pipers earned another penalty corner, but Domene’s powerful flick was met with a spectacular save from Mohith.
Soorma responded by earning a penalty corner a minute later, but Pipers’ first rusher Rohit charged down Hayward’s flick to frustrate them. With two minutes left on the clock, both teams continued to push hard as the match headed into its closing moments, but the Pipers managed to defend till the end as Soorma had to settle for a 6-1 victory.
–IANS
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