In a match that ebbed and flowed one way then the other, it was the goalkeeper Princedeep Singh who had the final say at the same end of the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai where he announced his arrival during the FIH Junior World Cup. With far fewer fans around than that night when he starred in the shootout against Belgium to help India win the quarterfinal, he was brought on by Tamil Nadu Dragons just for the tiebreaker against Hyderabad Toofans at the end of what had been a sensational 3-3 draw in regulation time of the Hockey India League season opener. And the youngster from Pathankot, who shifted to goalkeeping from defence because he was inspired by PR Sreejesh, produced two superb saves to hand Dragons the bonus point.
Before the shootout, Dragons and Toofans produced a rollercoaster that was played at breakneck speed. Uttam Singh (4’), Thomas Sorsby (9’) and Karthi Selvam (32’) scored for Dragons, while Amandeep Lakra (12’, 18’) and Arthur De Sloover (37’) scored for last-year finalists Toofans.
The standout moments from the match came from Amandeep, who showed why his drag flicks are so highly rated. In the absence of Gonzalo Peillat for this season, with the legendary drag flicker ruled out due to injury, Amandeep hit the ground straight away, scoring from two powerful flicks after Dragons had taken a 2-0 lead in the first quarter.
Then came a goal-of-the-season contender as midfielder Tom Craig produced a full-length diving pass in midfield to keep a move flowing, before local boy Karthi Selvam came up with a diving finish. Toofans’ equaliser was also a thing of beauty as De Sloover finished from a near-zero angle.
While both goalkeepers – David Harte and Jean Paul Danneberg – came up with big saves, the most telling defensive contribution came from Amandeep in the dying moments of the game. With less than 10 seconds to go, Dragons launched a blistering counterattack with a long, grounded pass into the circle, but the Toofans youngster got across quickly and launched himself forward with his outstretched stick to block the pass and celebrated it like a goal scored. It certainly won his side a point on the night.
