Rourkela (Odisha) [India], December 29 : Soorma Hockey Club took on Tamil Nadu Dragons and beat them 1-1 (4-1 SO), clinching the bonus point in penalty shootouts to conclude the second day of action at the Hero Hockey India League 2024-25 at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela today.
Nathan Ephraums (49') scored the first goal of the game for Tamil Nadu Dragons in the fourth quarter but Gurjant Singh (54') quickly equalised for Soorma Hockey Club, ending regulation time as a 1-1 draw, as per the HIL press release.
The game began cautiously, with both teams feeling each other out. Tamil Nadu Dragons gradually found their rhythm, making occasional forays into Soorma territory but failed to produce a shot on target. Soorma's Gurjant Singh injected some energy into the game, picking up the ball on the right wing, skipping past his marker, and firing a reverse shot but Tamil Nadu Dragons' goalkeeper David Harte was up to the task, making a crucial save with just four minutes remaining in the quarter. In the dying moments of the first quarter, Victor Wegnez surged into the shooting circle, earning a penalty corner. However, Nicolas Della Torre's flick went wide, leaving the deadlock unbroken.
Tamil Nadu Dragons' Thomas Sorsby created the first opportunity of the second quarter by drawing a penalty corner on the counter but Soorma's defensive unit held firm to avert the danger. Soorma then took control of possession, looking to carve out a clear scoring chance and it was Wengez who threatened to score on the reverse with the half coming to a close but his shot sailed wide. Tom Craig rushed into the shooting circle from a Tamil Nadu Dragons counter-attack and stretched to swat the ball on goal but Soorma's Goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch charged down the shot and the second quarter ended goalless.
Three minutes into the third quarter, Blake Govers manufactured a penalty corner for Tamil Nadu Dragons but Jip Janssen's flick was off the mark. Nicolas Poncelet responded by earning a penalty corner for Soorma and David Harte pulled off a superb save to deny Harmanpreet Singh. Both teams remained cautious in possession but failed to create more chances and the third quarter ended 0-0.
Soorma created a penalty corner as the last quarter began but Harmanpreet's drag flick was swatted away by Thomas Sorsby on the line. Soon after, Tamil Nadu Dragons went on to earn a penalty corner of their own and Nathan Ephraums pounced on a save by Vincent Vanasch to find the back of the net and finally break the deadlock. Soorma surged ahead in search for an equaliser and earned a penalty corner with six minutes left in the game. This time it was Gurjant who pounced on a save from David Harte to lift the ball into the net and restore parity for Soorma Hockey Club; forcing the game into penalty shootouts.
Harmanpreet Singh, Victor Wegnez, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Nicolas Keenan scored for Soorma Hockey Club while Vincent Vanasch made two saves to win the match in penalty shootouts.
"I am in a great team, we had a close match but I did my part in the penalty shootouts and we walked away with the win," Player of the Match Vincent Vanasch said after the match as quoted by a HIL press release.
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