IndianOil rally past Al to enter final
New Delhi   27-Feb-2008
The second semi-final between Indian Oil and Indian Airlines was sans the expected flair but was played at a breathtaking pace, a feature that has been lacking in the Ranjit Singh hockey tournament thus far. On Tuesday, spectators at the Shivaji Stadium were delighted to some fast-paced, smooth-flowing game, a far cry from the previous matches witnessed here, as a resilient IndianOil rallied to chalk out 4-2 win over Al and entered the final. In the title clash on Wednesday, IndianOil will take on BPCL who annihilated Army XI 4-0 in the first semi-final. In a keenly contested match both IndianOil and IA enjoyed equal exchanges in the first half. However, the latter enjoyed an edge as their defence, fed by Vikram Pillay, marked the oilmen well. Their mid-field, led by Dhanraj Pillay, also was good too and the enigmatic playmaker, along with Arjun Halapa and Samir Dad, really troubled the IndianOil defence. They tried a new tactic by pushing Sandeep Singh into the mid-field. The move worked wonders as Sandeep's crisp and accurate passes set up opportunities aplenty for the LA frontline. The airmen took the lead early on as Sandeep Michael successfully deflected Sandeep Singh's piercing free hit in the sixth minute. However, IndianOil bounced back just 11 minutes later with a quick transfer of the ball from defence to attack. Deedar Singh gained control of the ball from an overhead pass by Jaswinder Singh and found Inderjit Chadha in the midfield. Inderjit gave a through pass to Tyron Pereira, who took a crack at the goal as soon as he entered the circle. The ball flew into the net and IndianOil drew parity. The remainder of half went barren with IA receiving a big blow as their keeper AB Subbaiah had to retire from the game due to a minor injury. The replacement keeper, Harjit Singh, however was up to the task as he thwarted a very close call in the 30th minute by blocking Roshan Minz's speedy shot. After the breather, IA reclaimed the lead, thanks to a field goal by Arjun Halappa the 47th minute. However, Deepak Thakur showcased amazing dribbling skills before finding an unmarked Hamza who then easily deflected the ball as IndianOil equalized again in the 55th minute. As the clocked ticked away, it seemed that the match would go into penalty Shootout but the oilmen had other ideas. They upped the ante and got the reward in the form of a penalty corner. Deedar Singh made no mistake in converting it and IndianOil took the lead for the first time in the 62nd minute. Hamza then sealed the match three minutes later with a field goal, which he scored after getting a stunning back pass from Deedar. Earlier, BPCL blanked Army XI 4-0 to secure a berth in the final. Army XI never really looked up to the challenge and lacked the determination to bounce back.