Flawless victory for Uttar Pradesh Wizards against Ranchi Rhinos

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Lucknow, 20^th January 2013: A superb reverse hit by Jeroen Hertzberger and a penalty corner conversion by skipper VR Raghunath was good enough to earn Uttar Pradesh Wizards a 2-0 win over Ranchi Rhinos in the Hero Hockey India League at home on Sunday.

The win took Wizards to 12 points, same as Delhi Waveriders, and put them on top of the points table due to a better goal difference.

The first half saw a battle between two sides that were trying to stamp their supremacy on the game. The match began at a fast pace, and within the first few minutes, Ranchi Rhinos got close to the Uttar Pradesh Wizards goal post on a couple of occasions, without really threatening the Wizards’ goalkeeper. In the ninth minute, Wizards made a couple of good moves, but Rhinos’ Birendra Lakra intercepted and cleared the ball on both occasions, even before the move became really threatening.

Both the teams focused on being very solid at the back and in the mid-field, and as a result, good moves were few and far between. 

Mandeep Singh constantly tried to break the Wizards’ defence, his first good move being blocked well by Harbir Singh. Mandeep was at his best once again, with the half-time whistle just a couple of minutes away. Beating a couple of defenders, Mandeep got really close to the Wizards’ post, eventually earning a penalty corner. The penalty corner turned out to be disappointing though, as Rhinos failed to stop the ball, and the move got completely defused before it could be implemented.

The third quarter was dominated by Uttar Pradesh Wizards. They actively put pressure on the Rhinos’. First, it was Jolie Wouter in the 37^th minute, when he tried an ambitious reverse hit from the right, with the ball flying over the goal-post. Five minutes later, Jeroen Hertzberger came up with the hosts’ first real threat on Rhinos goal, with his very well struck reverse hit being saved well by Rhinos goalkeeper Francisco Cortes. The constant pressure finally paid out dividends for the Wizards in the 47^th minute. Hertzberger got the ball from right in close range, he swung around it, beat two Rhinos defenders, and smashed a fierce reverse hit, which beat the outstretched arm of Cortes and went into the goal to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Wizards could have doubles the lead three minutes later, but Raghunath’s low strike off a penalty corner was well saved by Cortes. Hertzberger tried to hit the mid-air rebound, but failed to hit the target being in a difficult position.

Wizards did eventually manage to doubles their lead, as Raghunath’s dispatch from right hit a Rhinos’ defender’s foot, earning the hosts their second penalty corner. This time, Raghunath struck it high, and hit it with a lot of pace, giving Cortes no chance of getting even close to the ball.

In search of a goal, Rhinos pushed more players forward, leaving some gaps in the defence. Wizards took advantage, and had a good chance to add another goal in the 65^th minute, but this time Raghunath failed to hit the back of the net.

Wizards had a chance of denying Rhinos even a point in the last minute on a counter attack, but a well struck shot from Thimmanna was well saved by Cortes.

At the post match press conference winning side coach Roelant Oltmans said “We played a really good game and implemented our strategy in an effective manner especially in the second half. I see the team’s performance improving on a day to day basis, we surely played a better game today than yesterday. The team is slowly learning how to play each minute of the game and to improvise according to situations that arise in the game.”

Team captain Raghunath said “After the first twenty minutes we went into attack mode and tried scoring a couple of goals but nothing came out of it. Our persistence paid off in the second half and given more opportunities I will definitely score more goals.”

Losing Coach Gregg Clark said “We couldn’t implement our game plan, maintain rhythm or coordinate well; I guess it was a bad day for the team. We will try and comeback in the next match.”

“Our efforts in trying to score goals were not good enough today. The hectic travel schedule has taken a toll on the team and has affected our performance as well”, said losing captain Moritz Fuerste

The Hero Hockey India League is organised by Hockey India with official sanction from the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The inaugural season is being played from January 14 to February 10, 2013 in a home-and-away format. The five franchisee-based teams, consisting of the top hockey players from India and around the world, will compete for the prestigious trophy. Hero Motocorp Ltd. is the Title Sponsor of the league while Airtel is the Associate Sponsor. Star Sports, who is the Broadcast Partner, will be telecasting all matches live.

In their next home match, Uttar Pradesh Wizards take on Ranchi Rhinos again, on Saturday 26^th January at 3 p.m. and Ranchi Rhinos will play their next home match against Delhi Waveriders at Astroturf Hockey Stadium on 23^rd January at 8 p.m.