WSH: Mumbai Marines beat Chennai Cheetahs 4-2
Mumbai Marines notched up a 4-2 victory over hosts Chennai Cheetahs to put their campaign back on track in the Bridgestone World Series Hockey tournament here on Tuesday.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: March 06, 2012 10:24 PM IST
Mumbai Marines notched up a 4-2 victory over hosts Chennai Cheetahs to put their campaign back on track in the Bridgestone World Series Hockey tournament here on Tuesday.
The Mumbai team dominated the proceedings for most part of the match, scoring through Davinder Valmiki (12th), Anup Anthony (24th), Ajmer Singh (48th) and Bimal Lakra (52nd).
The Cheetahs scored through Imran Warsi (4th) and Sunil Yadav (68th).
Playing their third match in four days, Cheetahs looked tired and jaded after arriving here from Delhi in the morning.
Chennai tasted their second defeat in four outings on Tuesday, having lost to Sher-E-Punjab earlier. They had won against Chandigarh Comets and Delhi Wizards.
After the bitter disappointment of a heavy defeat against Chandigarh Comets (2-5) last weekend, Mumbai hit back with a confident win at the M Radhakrishnan stadium under lights.
The first two quarters had the Cheetahs holding the edge and their goalkeeper Jasbir Singh played at his best. In fact, it was the Cheetahs who got the early lead through Pakistan international Syed Imran Warsi following their first penalty corner.
However, Mumbai raised the intensity of their game after getting the equaliser via Valmiki in the 12th minute. Thereafter they kept invading the rival citadel.
The second quarter was more productive for the Marines as Anthony made good use of an opportunity during a melee involving the Cheetahs' goalkeeper Jasbir in front of the post and then Ajmer Singh converted an indirect shot following a penalty corner deflection by Valmiki.
Cheetahs' Brent Livermore and Adam Sinclair were seen working in tandem but their efforts were thwarted inside the Mumbai circle. The hosts showed lack of coordination in their approach.
On the other hand, Mumbai made most of their chances and India international Bimal Lakra succeeded in swelling the scoreline with a powerful drive-in following a penalty corner in the 52nd minute.
Cheetahs reduced the margin to 2-4 when Yadav converted a penalty corner 16 minutes later. Marines' Troy Sutherland was the man of the match.
In their upcoming fixtures, Mumbai will take on Karnataka Lions on March 8 in Bangalore, while Cheetahs will play Pune Strykers here on March 9.