Delhi Wave Riders News

New Delhi, Jan 31 2014: 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 today.

Sandeep Singh (8^th minute), Satbir Singh (64th) and Shivendra Singh (66^th) scored a goal each for the Punjab outfit, while Delhi Waveriders’ lone goal came from the sticks of Rupinderpal Singh (65^th).

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.

Hero Goal of the match winner Shivendra Singh

YES Bank Garv Award winner – Sandeep Singh

Man of the Match – Robert Hammond

Speaking on the performance by the team Coach Barry Dancer, JPW said “this was the first win against Delhi and it took us four matches to get this victory. The entire team contributed and it was like world class hockey being played on the field today. Sandeep was outstanding today and his contribution was the key to this win today”

Speaking on the win Captain Jamie Dywer said “today was one of our better performance and beating Delhi Waveriders was very satisfying. The team still needs to improve some of the elements. We lose or win as long as we play 70 minutes of good hockey results will automatically flow”.

Speaking on the teams performance, Cedric D’Souza Delhi Waveriders Coach, said “any lose is a disappointment and the team played in patches and had ball in our possession but unfortunately we were unable to convert the chances. Our penalty corner moves were good but I must compliment the Warriors for saving them well”

Delhi Waveriders Captain Sardar Singh spoke “it was a 50 50 game and as the game progressed the team lost the momentum. Each day is a new day, we have time to work on the mistakes done today and make sure that we reach the semi-finals”

Punjab Warriors will next play Uttar Pradesh Wizards at Lucknow on Sunday while the Waveriders will face Kalinga Lancers in Bhubaneswar in the second match of the day.