CHENNAI: For all their initial verve and flashes of imagination, Hockey India juniors — drawn mostly under-18 players — frittered away an early-goal cushion to split points with BPCL on the opening day of the 86th MCC-Murugappa National Hockey tournament. On the other hand, BPCL would rue the chances they split.
Despite their overwhelming possession, the colts couldn’t manage a sizeable lead that could have pushed BPCL to desperation. A vibrant midfield, orchestrated by skipper Lalit Upadhyay, conceptualised chances but again the execution craved for finesse. A disjointed frontline utterly lacked cohesion. Yet the opening goal — pushed in by Lalit in the eleventh minute — treacherously promised much in terms of synchronisation. Snatching the ball from the right, he dodged it to the top of the arc, before being strangled by a maze of opposition sticks. But he cleverly slipped the ball to the unmarked Lalit, who zoomed in and fetched the ball past BPCL goalkeeper. Buoyed, the juniors seemed gaining ascendancy. Shortly after they spilled a penalty corner, Lalit split between two defenders and fed the ball to Anselam Hemram. But his clumsy first touch furnished enough time for BPCL goalkeeper Kuttappa to avert the danger.
Kuttappa’s counterpart Naveen Kumar, though, was busier as the match progressed. Minutes before half-time, Sabu Varkey’s meaty drive thudded off the near post and Naveen was wary enough to palm off Jarnail’s push off the rebound. Naveen was the in eye of the storm in the second half, where he acrobatically fended off two penalty corners, both executed by Gurpreet Singh.
Deciding to sit back and defend proved costly for India colts, as BPCL pressed for an equaliser, gashing open the formers’ holes in defence. Had not Naveen been at his vigilant best, BPCL could have comfortably gained lead.
Persistent as they were, an equaliser was imminent. For once, Naveen’s reflexes weren’t sharp enough. Sabu Varkey’s short went through Naveen’s legs. Maybe, Karmjit Singh’s brooding presence in front of him slackened his view.
Baffling though was Hockey India’s reluctance to hunt down the winner. In the end, the youngsters lost out on whatever psychological boost they could have gained. Earlier, ONGC thrashed Karnataka in the opening fixture.
