In a match that ebbed and flowed a method then the opposite, it was the goalkeeper Princedeep Singh who had the ultimate say on the identical finish of the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai the place he introduced his arrival through the FIH Junior World Cup. With far fewer followers round than that evening when he starred within the shootout in opposition to Belgium to assist India win the quarterfinal, he was introduced on by Tamil Nadu Dragons only for the tiebreaker in opposition to Hyderabad Toofans on the finish of what had been a sensational 3-3 attract regulation time of the Hockey India League season opener. And the teenager from Pathankot, who shifted to goalkeeping from defence as a result of he was impressed by PR Sreejesh, produced two excellent saves handy Dragons the bonus level.
Earlier than the shootout, Dragons and Toofans produced a rollercoaster that was performed at breakneck pace. Uttam Singh (4’), Thomas Sorsby (9’) and Karthi Selvam (32’) scored for Dragons, whereas Amandeep Lakra (12’, 18’) and Arthur De Sloover (37’) scored for last-year finalists Toofans.
The standout moments from the match got here from Amandeep, who confirmed why his drag flicks are so extremely rated. Within the absence of Gonzalo Peillat for this season, with the legendary drag flicker dominated out as a result of harm, Amandeep hit the bottom right away, scoring from two highly effective flicks after Dragons had taken a 2-0 lead within the first quarter.
Then got here a goal-of-the-season contender as midfielder Tom Craig produced a full-length diving cross in midfield to maintain a transfer flowing, earlier than native boy Karthi Selvam got here up with a diving end. Toofans’ equaliser was additionally a factor of magnificence as De Sloover completed from a near-zero angle.
Whereas each goalkeepers – David Harte and Jean Paul Danneberg – got here up with huge saves, probably the most telling defensive contribution got here from Amandeep within the dying moments of the sport. With lower than 10 seconds to go, Dragons launched a blistering counterattack with a protracted, grounded cross into the circle, however the Toofans teenager acquired throughout rapidly and launched himself ahead together with his outstretched stick to dam the cross and celebrated it like a objective scored. It actually received his aspect a degree on the evening.
