Murugappa Gold Cup: Army get past PSB 3-2, Railways enter semis

CHENNAI: Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) were knocked out of the All India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament after suffering a 2-3 defeat to Army XI at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Wednesday. Army XI now have six points from three games and a victory against ONGC on Thursday will ensure their progress to the semi-finals. Apart from the first fifteen minutes of the second half, Army XI dominated most of the possession and deserved their victory.Tamil Nadu's S Arumugam gave the local crowd something to cheer about as he opened the scoring for Army XI in the 16th minute. PSB did string together some good passes in the middle of the field in the first half, but indecisiveness in front of goal cost them dear. Post the break, however, they came out all guns blazing and scored two goals in the space of eleven minutes to overturn the deficit.
Skipper Ramandeep Singh deserved much of the credit for the first goal, winning the penalty corner that Gaganpreet Singh scored from in the 36th minute. Shortly after, Ramandeep was once again at the forefront as a thunderous shot into the bottom corner helped PSB go 2-1 ahead. Just as PSB seemed to be getting on top, though, Army XI struck back courtesy Binoy Bhengara to make it two goals apiece. Binoy wasn't done there. With just three minutes left to play, he provided the decisive pass as Siraju AP tapped the ball into the back of the net to give Army XI all three points.
Indian Railways, meanwhile, sealed their place in the semi-finals as they beat Hockey Karnataka 8-2 to top Pool B with nine points. IOC defeated Mumbai Hockey Association 5-2 in a Pool A encounter.
Results: Army XI beat Punjab & Sind Bank 3-2, IOC beat Mumbai Hockey Association 5-2, Indian Railways beat Hockey Karnataka 8-2.