Seasoned drag-flicker Rupinderpal Singh rolled back the years as he scored a brace to help the Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers beat Team Gonasika in their Hockey India League (HIL) 2024-25 match at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday. Rupinderpal Singh (31st min and 48th min) scored from a penalty corner and a penalty stroke while Manpreet Singh scored Team Gonasika’s solitary goal.
In Rupinderpal Singh and Jugraj Singh, the Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers have two lethal drag flickers and the pair were called into action inside the opening three minutes as Sukhjeet Singh won a penalty corner. Jugraj’s drag flick was saved comfortably by Oliver Payne.
Team Gonasika controlled the tempo of the match with the trio of Vishnukanth Singh, Jack Waller, and Jake Draper busy in the middle of the park. S.K. Uthappa gave Gonasika their first big chance as he won a penalty corner midway through the first quarter.
Araijeet Singh Hundal, however, was unable to get past the Gonasika rushers from his attempt as the Bengal Tigers immediately went on the counter through Sukhjeet Singh. The India forward went on a lung-busting run brushing off his marker before finding an unmarked Affan Yousuf in the circle with a good pass. Unfortunately, Yousuf was unable to trap the ball cleanly and the attack was wasted.
The Bengal Tigers would have another crack at taking the lead in the first quarter with Sukhjeet winning another penalty corner in the final minute. Oliver Payne once again kept Jugraj Singh’s attempt at bay. The second quarter was a scratchy affair as neither side created any clear-cut opportunities. In the 21st minute, the Bengal Tigers won a couple of penalty corners. As was the case with his previous attempts, Jugraj went straight down the middle giving Payne an easy save.
The deadlock was nearly broken in the 25th minute as Gonasika worked the ball into goal from outside the circle with a clever play. Struan Walker only needed the slightest of touches on the ball to give his side the lead but missed it narrowly. The Bengal Tigers won their fifth penalty corner in the 27th minute with Rupinder stepping up on the first battery this time around. Instead of attacking the goal, the Tigers’ defender opted to play it back to Abhishek who had injected the ball. Jack Waller read the Tigers’ play perfectly to get a touch on Rupinder’s pass and wrong-foot Abhishek.
Gonasika won their second penalty corner of the match in the 29th with Jamie Carr comfortably saving Walker’s drag flick. Nothing could separate both sides at the break with both sides splitting the possession, circle penetration, and shots stats. However, the Bengal Tigers had five penalty corners to two for Gonasika.
The opening five minutes of the third quarter had more action than the previous two quarters combined as both sides scored once each and had a couple of big chances.
The Bengal Tigers were the ones to break the deadlock as Sukhjeet won a sixth penalty corner in the opening minute. Rupinder Pal fired an unstoppable shot to give his side the lead in the 31st minute. The celebrations from the Tigers players showed just how much they loved the vintage Rupinder goal. The celebration lasted less than a minute as Gonasika equalised as soon as play restarted. It was good play from Walker as he held up play before finding an unmarked Manpreet Singh with a clever reverse pass. With only Carr to beat, Manpreet went low and hard to draw his side level.
Manpreet was in the thick of the action at the other end soon after as he put in a superb tackle to steal the ball off Walker just as he was about to pull the trigger. Both Carr and Suraj Karkera were a busy pair of goalkeepers as they made a couple of good saves over the next few minutes. The intensity lessened a bit as both sides focused on staying solid in defence and not committing mistakes. Sukhjeet had the final big chance of the quarter as he led a solo counter in the final minute before drawing a good save from his India teammate Karkera.
The Bengal Tigers retook the lead early in the fourth quarter as Abhishek won a penalty stroke in the 48th minute. Up stepped Rupinder Pal and he coolly found the bottom corner of the goal past Payne. The Bengal Tigers made it 3-1 in the 53rd minute through Sebastien Dockier even as the Gonasika players protested the goal. Following an umpire’s referral, it was found that the ball had touched Abhishek’s foot in the build-up and the goal was chalked off. The Bengal Tigers’ defence stood strong to notch their second straight win in the Hockey India League.
Player of the Match Abhishek said, “It was a tough match but our team effort was good. We were better with our chances in the second half and that was the difference between the two teams today”
