Lucknow: Delhi Waveriders failed to replicate their home form in their first away game of the Hero Hockey India League and were held to a 1-1 draw by Uttar Pradesh Wizards here on Saturday.
The Waveriders, who had won their first two encounters at home against Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Mumbai Magicians, however regained the top spot in the league standings with 12 points from three encounters.
But the visitors would not be satisfied with the end results given the way they started the match. The Waveriders came out all guns blazing in the first quarter and penetrated the opposition's striking circle at will.
The team bore fruits in the sixth minute when their New Zealand recruit Simon Child beat the Wizards' custodian with a reverse hit. Had it not been for their suspect shooting, the visitors should have extended their lead in the next 10 minutes.
But that was not the case and the Wizards slowly but surely began clawing their way back in the match and earned two penalty corners in the dying minutes of the first quarters to go into the break with their confidence restored.
They began the second quarter with much more intent and Olympian V R Raghunath restored parity for the hosts with his trademark drag-flick in the 24th minute of the game.
There was hardly anything to choose between the two teams thereafter. Though the visitors had 'better hits on goal ratio' to their opponents, none of the teams really looked threatening enough and yellow cards to Waveriders players Sardar Singh and Yuvraj Walmiki only pegged them back.
Both the skippers - Raghunath of Wizards and Sardara Singh of Waveriders - expressed satisfaction with the final result said they would look forward to press for victory in their next respective encounters.
UP Wizards Coach Roelant Oltmans said "We didn't create too many errors for our opponents to capitalise on. In my opinion both teams played equally well, this was a match where the teams were matched equally on all factors." He further added "There were some issues with our players today and we had to bench them otherwise I am sure we would have scored a few more goals. We are happy that the team didn't lose the game today, gaining some points from this match will surely help us in the future matches where we plan to recover full points."
VR Raghunath, Captain of UP Wizards expresses his views on today's game stating "The boys played well today and we are satisfied with our performance here. Even though we were playing at home there was no pressure on us, but it was our responsibility to play well."
"We were prepared and went all out in this game, but the match was tough and well matched. Our Australian and South African players were not in the game and we saw dip in performance in the 2nd quarter. Nevertheless we bounced back in the 3rd and 4th quarter. With our current points I am sure the team will do well and win matches." Coach AK Bansal, said at the post match press meet.
Captain Sardar Singh said" The teams games was affected in the absence of the Australian and South African players, having said this the team did miss opportunities in scoring goals. I personally thank the management, organizers and franchise owners for putting up such a fantastic show. We hope to improve our points in future games."
The opening game of UP Wizards celebrated flamboyant performances by Bollywood heartthrobs, Katrina Kaif and Nargis Fakhri. The actress who performed on some famous numbers from their films stole a million hearts including those of the hockey players.
Tomorrow, Uttar Pradesh Wizards would take on Ranchi Rhinos in the first of the double header at Guru Gobind Singh Sports College at 3 p.m. while Mumbai Magicians will host Jaypee Punjab Warriors in Mumbai at 8.pm.
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 Delhi Waveriders will play Mumbai Magicians at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium on 26th January at 7 pm.
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