BPCL held by resilient Army Red
Bangalore   25-Jan-2011

Favourites Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and dark horses Army Red played out a cautious 0-0 draw in the Ozone Group State Super Division league hockey championship here on Monday.

With both teams yet to drop a point preceding this clash and the league entering its decisive week, BPCL and Army Red, not surprisingly, opted for a wait-and-watch approach resulting in the tournament’s first goalless encounter at the KSHA stadium.

IndianOil, who drubbed Fortis 9-3 later in the evening under floodlights, marched to the top on 21 points from seven matches with three left to play.

Holders BPCL are second on 19 points while Air India are at third on 18 points (six matches) with Army Red close on the heels with 16 points from six matches as well.

Playing against a team which has conceded just one goal so far, the task for BPCL appeared huge. Sadly, the defending champions’ complete lack of understanding upfront hardly threatened to hurt Army Red’s impressive defensive record.

The talented Tushar Khandkar usually cut himself a lone figure, his failure to release the ball on time to strike partner Hari Prasad providing ample time for Army Red to thwart any attempts two-three yards before the striking circle. Coach-cum-player and veteran Sabu Varkey did provide moments of inspiration but even his whole-hearted effort went in vain.

On the other hand, Army Red stuck to their routine disciplined self, playing the short passing game and looking to attack only on the counters. While they did threaten to break the ice on four occasions, the quick counters eventually proved too fast for strikers A Armugum and Ignace Tirkey. Army Red medios Mukesh, Jerum and Varun impressed with their tireless show but had they shown bit more creativity, a surprise could have been on the cards.

In the day’s earlier match, Deepak Bijwad struck a brace, including a late equaliser, as Sports Authority of India held Namdhari XI to a 2-2 draw.