Rourkela, Jan 6 India skipper Harmanpreet Singh found his scoring touch to help Soorma Hockey Club clinch a 2-2 (3-1 SO) penalty shootout victory against the Delhi SG Pipers in the Hockey India League 2024-25 at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Monday, taking the second place in the points table.
After a quiet first half, Tomas Domene (43’) and Manjeet Singh (45’) scored to grant Delhi SG Pipers a two-goal lead in the third quarter. However, Harmanpreet Singh (48’, 57’) found the back of the net twice with his drag flicks to get Soorma back on level terms in the last quarter and force penalty shootouts.
Soorma Hockey Club began the game with marginally more control over the ball but the Delhi SG Pipers were the first to breach the opponent's shooting circle, almost five minutes into the game, however, Jake Whetton’s shot was off target.
Soon after, the Pipers earned a penalty corner but Domene’s flick was swatted away easily by Nicolas Della Torre at the post. Maninder Singh managed the only shot on target for Soorma towards the end of the first quarter as he wrestled his way into the circle and pulled the trigger from the top of the circle but his shot was easily saved by Delhi SG Pipers’ goalkeeper Benjamin Rennie.
Delhi SG Pipers began the second quarter by earning a penalty corner but Tomas Domene’s dragflick was straight towards Soorma’s goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch. With Soorma happy to drop back into their half and employ a half-court press, the Pipers made constant forays into the shooting circle but were unable to create a clear goalscoring chance. Raj Kumar Pal had the most significant opportunity to score with a reverse shot from an acute angle with three minutes left but Vanasch remained alert in goal and the first half ended goalless.
Shamsher Singh looked to continue the Pipers’ dominance with a quick shot from an aerial pass as the third quarter began but the shot bounced off the post. Five minutes into the third quarter, Maninder Singh earned Soorma’s first penalty corner but Della Torre’s low flick was easily deflected out.
The Pipers remained undeterred in their search for a goal and as the third quarter came to a close, Ky Willot found Domene on the right wing, who shook his marker and pushed the ball through Vanasch’s legs to grant Delhi SG Pipers the lead in the game. With a minute left in the quarter, the Pipers ventured on a counterattack through Jake Whetton who blazed a cross in front of goal and Manjeet Singh was alert to dive and deflect the ball to the roof of the net and further increase their lead.
Soorma showed more initiative as the last quarter began, pushing the Pipers into their half but they managed to save Phil Roper and Maninder’s shots in quick succession. Soorma went on to earn their second penalty corner soon after and Harmanpreet Singh powered the ball through Benjamin Rennie’s legs to pull a goal back for Soorma. They kept the pressure on and earned another penalty with four minutes left in the game and Harmanpreet stepped up again to find the bottom right corner and restore parity.
Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nicolas Keenan, and Boris Burkhardt scored in the penalty shootouts while Vincent Vanasch pulled out three saves to snatch the bonus point for Soorma Hockey Club.
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