Ranchi: The home crowd in Ranchi was treated to another clinical performance by the defending Champions Ranchi Rays who defeated Dabang Mumbai H.C 1-0. Ranchi extended their lead at the top of the table to 37 points with their 5th straight win on home turf.
The first half of the match between Ranchi Rays and Dabang Mumbai H.C started with both the teams matching each other in every move. Ranchi confident on their home ground started making strong moves but Mumbai kept an impeccable defensive line to deny the Ranchi Rays a clear shot at the goal. Mumbai pressed hard at the end of the first quarter but the pressure could not be converted into a goal. The first quarter ended with the score at 0-0.
The second quarter started with the Ranchi Rays attacking to break the defensive deadlock but Ranchi was unable to break the Mumbai defense line. The last part of the first quarter saw a lot of the game in the midfield and the half ended with the score at 0-0.
The third quarter was a similar story with both the teams going neck to neck. The breakthrough finally came at 5 minutes into the third quarter with a penalty corner conversion by the Ranchi Rays Captain Ashley Jackson. Dabang Mumbai H.C started attacking in order to search for an equalizer but none of the attacks were able to penetrate the Ranchi defense. The golden opportunity for Mumbai came in the 44th minute through a penalty corner but it was beautifully saved by the Ranchi Rays goalkeeper Tyler Lovell. The score at the end of third quarter stood at 1-0 in favour of Ranchi Rays.
Fourth quarter started with the Dabang Mumbai H.C team looking desperate for a goal but the Ranchi Rays started controlling possession. Dabang Mumbai H.C got an opportunity through back to back penalty corners but Tyler Lovell continued to refuse to be beaten. Dabang Mumbai H.C dominated the play for the last moments of the fourth quarter making regular circle penetrations but none of the shots could get through the tall figure of Tyler Lovell. Dabang Mumbai H.C failed got two penalty corner opportunities in the closing moments of the match but Mumbai failed to convert. The match ended with a win for the Ranchi Rays 1-0.
The Coal India Goal of the Match award of INR 50,000 was presented by Shri Arbind Prasad, Chief Vigilance Officer, CCL to Ashley Jackson from Ranchi Rays, while his teammate Daniel Beale won the Most Entertaining Player of the Match award. Kothajit Singh from Ranchi Rays walked away with the Man of the Match award of INR 50,000 while Affan Yousuf from Dabang Mumbai won the INR 25,000 Hero Emerging Player of the Match award.
The next match of the 4th Coal India Hockey India League will be played between Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Kalinga Lancers in Sector 42, Hockey Stadium in Chandigarh on 15th February, 2016.
