Jaypee Punjab Warriors defeated Delhi Waveriders 3-1 in a keenly-contested match to register their third consecutive win and jump to the top of the standings in the second edition of Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) at the floodlit Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
On a cold January night, both Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Delhi Waveriders dished out fast, attacking end-to-end hockey to produce one of the best games of the league so far.
Sandeep utilized the first real scoring opportunity of Jaypee Punjab Warriors, converting their first penalty corner in the eighth minute.After playing the second fiddle early on, the Delhi Waveriders opened up as time past by and enjoyed the better share of possession in the second quarter.The Delhi Waveriders were guilty of not capitalizing on the chances that came their way and wasted three penalty corners in the first 35 minutes of the match.
An alert Stockman under Jaypee Punjab Warriors goal came up with twin saves from the Delhi Waveriders first penalty corner to help the visitors enjoy a narrow one-goal advantage at the midway mark.Jaypee Punjab Warriors had a golden opportunity to extend their lead but Sandeep flicked wide off the target from a penalty corner.The last 10 minutes of the match produced three goals two for Punjab Warriors one for Waveriders to enthrall the spectators present at the stadium.
While Satbir and Shivendra scored from field efforts, Rupinder finally converted a penalty corner for the Delhi side out of the six they earned in the entire match.
Incidentally, the win came as a revenge for Jaypee Punjab Warriors who lost by identical 1-3 margin at the hands of Delhi Waveriders in the inaugural match of HHIL 2014 at Mohali. Jaypee Punjab Warriors are now leading the points table with 15 points from four games, closely followed by Delhi Waveriders who are on 12 points from the same number of games.
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