MUMBAI: With 47 seconds to go, Dabang Mumbai were thrown a lifeline. Trailing defending champions Ranchi Rays by two goals, Mumbai won an appeal for a penalty corner. Sander De Wijn took the short corner, sent the ball to Robbert Kepperman who nudged the ball out of the penalty area to Harmanpreet Singh so that it would be counted as a field goal. Harmanpreet fired the ball in and Nikkin Thimmaiah got a stick to the ball even as he fell over the goalkeeper to put the finishing touch.
It earned Mumbai a 3-3 draw with Ranchi in the opening encounter of the 2017 Hockey India League at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Just like Thimmaiah, who had done precious little up until that point, Mumbai had faltered. But both the team were able to pull it together at the last minute.
Mumbai have never made it to the knockout rounds in the four previous editions of the league. They lacked intensity and confidence going forward, and their strikers failed to give the team any clear chance early on.
“A lot of work still needs to be done,” said Mumbai coach Jay Stacy. “For example, their movement and positioning in defence. We got into the D early on but we didn’t manage to create chances or earn penalty corners. They need better decision-making.”
Indian youngsters, fresh from their Junior World Cup win last month, were at the heart of it. Simranjeet Singh got the ball rolling for the defending champions, as he met a Christopher Ruhr pass and hit the ball across the body and into the net. Simranjeet’s last televised goal won India the junior world championships, and here he made inroads into the Mumbai team with precise shooting.
India drag-flicker Harmanpreet, also a crucial member of that JWC squad, would not be left behind. In the 37th minute, he scored off a penalty corner to get Mumbai on the board. But according to Hockey India Rules, a field goal counts as two while a penalty corner doesn’t, which meant Mumbai were trailing 1-2.
Ruhr then converted a penalty stroke in the 39th minute to help his team to 3-1. Mumbai were chasing the lead for the entire last quarter, but with a few seconds to go, they finally caught up. It was a dramatic end to a rather rusty opening affair, which brought the teams two points apiece.
deeptipatwardhan@newindianexpress.com