Harmanpreet Singh stood bent double, disappointment writ large on his face. In a season of highs and lows, somehow Soorma Hockey Club gave themselves a chance. A miniscule chance, but chance nonetheless. They needed to win by seven goals to snatch fourth place away from HIL Governing Council. In front of them were SG Pipers who had endured yet another wretched season, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
In the end though, Soorma could manage “only” a 6–1 victory against Pipers in the final Men’s Hockey India League (HIL) group stage match. Soorma made a high-intensity start, led by Jeremy Hayward’s (2’, 7’, 34’, 45’) thunderous drag flicks and a counter-attacking strike from Lucas Martinez (11’). Nicolas Keenan (47’) later helped Soorma move into touching distance of qualification in the final quarter but the Pipers held on in the dying minutes to break Soorma’s hopes of advancing to the Qualifiers.
Soorma began the game on the front foot, forcing the Pipers back early and earning a penalty corner within the opening minutes. Hayward stepped up and powered his flick into the right corner to give Soorma a flying start. The pressure continued as Soorma attacked relentlessly from the flanks while employing a high press to suffocate the Pipers. Moments later, another penalty corner followed, and Hayward once again beat Pipers’ goalkeeper Tomas Santiago to double the lead.
The Pipers made occasional forays into Soorma territory but were unable to threaten the defence. Soorma, meanwhile, kept the pressure on. With five minutes left in the quarter, Gurjant Singh won possession high up the pitch and played the ball to Martinez, who calmly slotted into an open goal to make it 3–0.
Soorma continued to dominate possession in the second quarter, while the Pipers adopted a defence-first approach, sitting deep to prevent the scoreline from escalating further. That strategy brought some respite, with the Pipers beginning to test Soorma goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch through a few sporadic attempts, though they could not find a breakthrough.
In the third quarter, Soorma switched tactics by employing long aerials to stretch the Pipers’ defence. The pressure soon resulted in another penalty corner, and Hayward unleashed a thunderous flick into the right bottom corner, too quick for defender Jarmanpreet Singh to stop. Towards the end of the quarter, the Pipers enjoyed a rare spell of possession, rotating the ball across their backline before earning their first penalty corner. Domene made it count with a low flick to the left corner to beat Soorma goalkeeper Mohith HS. However, a foul by Pawan soon handed Soorma a penalty stroke, which Hayward converted confidently to the right, restoring a four-goal advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Soorma stepped up the intensity further in the fourth quarter with an unrelenting press, which saw Keenan react quickest to smash home after a saved shot, bringing Soorma within touching distance of qualification. The Pipers also threatened intermittently, with Manjeet testing Mohith with a reverse shot on goal. With four minutes remaining, the Pipers earned another penalty corner, but Domene’s powerful flick was met with a spectacular save from Mohith.
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Soorma responded by earning a penalty corner a minute later but Pipers’ first rusher Rohit charged down Hayward’s flick to frustrate them. With two minutes left on the clock, both teams continued to push hard as the match headed into its closing moments but the Pipers managed to defend till the end as Soorma had to settle for a 6-1 victory.
HIL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE:
23 Jan, 5.00 pm: Eliminator: Hyderabad Toofans vs HIL GC
23 Jan, 7.30 pm: Qualifier 1: Kalinga Lancers vs Ranchi Royals
25 Jan, 7.30 pm: Qualifier 2: Winner of Eliminator vs loser of Qualifier 1
26 Jan, 5.00 pm: 3rd place playoff
26 Jan, 7.30 pm: Final
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