Johor Bahru, Oct 25 Indian junior men's hockey team held their nerves to end their round-robin stage with a thrilling 3-3 draw against New Zealand at the ongoing Sultan of Johor Cup on Friday. Gurjot Singh (6'), Rohit (17') and Talem Priyobarta (60') put their names on the scoresheet while Jonty Elmes (17’, 32’, 45’) scored a hat-trick of goals for New Zealand with his powerful dragflicks.
While India continue to lead the points table with 10 points, India's fate to make the final will be determined by Great Britain and Australia's matches against Japan and Malaysia respectively later on Friday.
India got off to a strong start with a fine goal from Gurjot Singh in the 6th minute. Gurjot's timeliness was impressive as his first shot on goal, assisted by Sukhvinder, bounced straight back after the goalkeeper made the save. In his second attempt, he skillfully lofted the ball to the roof of the net to earn India an important 1-0 lead.
In the 8th minute, India had a chance to extend their lead with two back-to-back PCs but the New Zealand goalie was outstanding in his efforts to save. In the following minutes, New Zealand created an attacking formation that helped them make a successful foray into the striking circle, but Rosan Kujur was sharp in his defence to keep them from scoring.
New Zealand eventually worked their way through Indian defence in the 17th minute when Jonty Elmes scored a fine field goal to equalise. But India was quick to respond, with Rohit striking from the PC to regain the momentum and also lead 2-1 in the 17th minute.
Both teams played the match with frantic speed in their attack, showcased some exciting hockey as they went on-par with each other in the following minutes. While India created a flurry of PCs towards the end of the second quarter, they could not find success in extending their lead.
To their dismay, New Zealand began the third quarter with a fine PC conversion by Jonty Elmes, who had struck for the second time. His flick was not stopped by India goalie Bikramjit Singh. Jonty, fierce power in his dragflick was a pain-point for Indian defence, as he completed a hat-trick of goals in the 45th minute, and took New Zealand score to 3-2 ahead of the last quarter.
India's woes with penalty corner conversion continued in the fourth quarter as they missed a chance in the 46th minute. Meanwhile, New Zealand rode on the 3-2 lead, as they came up with brilliant counter attacks in the following minutes but Indian defence held sway, knowing that conceding another goal would be detrimental to their chances of making the final.
With 90 seconds left on the clock, India found a golden opportunity to equalise when they earned a PC. This time, they finally found success with a splendid variation which was executed to perfection by Talem Priyobarta, ending the thrilling encounter with a 3-3 draw.
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