Dynamos sneaks past Sultans

Dec 21:  A 24th minute penalty corner conversion by Sandeep Singh helped local favourites Chandigarh Dynamos sneaked past former champions Hyderabad Sultans by a solitary goal in the opening match of the 4th Premier Hockey League played at the Sector 42 hockey stadium here on Thursday.

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The game started on a fast note with both the teams taking a cautious approach in the first quarter as there were not many substitutions. Both the teams had an equal share of exchanges and ball possession with the game restricted to midfield action only.

The hockey lovers turned up in big numbers fighting along the winter chill to watch local favourites Chandigarh Dynamos. Chandigarh forward-line packed by international Prabhjot Singh, Deepak Thakur and Rajpal Singh made sporadic forays but couldn't cash in the opportunities in the end.

Hyderabad defence led by Jasbir Singh and Samir Baxla kept their cool to push the Chandigarh strikers at bay but they couldn't stop them too long as Dynamos wait for the goal came to an end. Dynamos team went ahead with Sandeep Singh converting a penalty stroke in the 24th minute which turned out to be the match-winner.

SS Gill gave a pass to Prabhjot, who gained the possession of the ball and entered into the circle. Prabhjot's shot was wrongly stopped by Hyderabad's defender Nitin Kumar on the goal line and umpire VB Singh instantly opened up his hands to give a Penalty stroke.

Sandeep Singh made no mistake in converting the penalty as Chandigarh earned full points from their first match.

Hyderabad players tried their hard in the third and fourth quarters to stage a comeback in the match. They opened up on quite a few occasions with Sardar Singh and Bikas Toppo making some dangerous moves upfront but the parity goal remained elusive till the end.