Hockey India League 2024-25: UP Rudras secures comfortable 3-0 win over Soorma Hockey Club

Hockey India League 2024-25: UP Rudras secures comfortable 3-0 win over Soorma Hockey Club

Soorma Hockey Club had the better of everything except the goals, paying the price for profligacy and waywardness to go down 3-0 against UP Rudras in match seven of the Hockey India League here on Wednesday.

With its second outright win in as many games, UP joined Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers at the top of the table with six points, while Soorma, with a shootout win, is on two points. But it only had itself to blame for Wednesday’s loss, with defensive lapses adding to its scoring woes. It was also the most one-sided game so far in the HIL.

UP was off the mark even before the opposition could settle in the game, with Sudeep Chirmako slotting in a rebound in the second minute itself. Rattled, Soorma went on the attack, pressing hard and rewarded by a couple of PCs, but without Harmanpreet Singh on the pitch, they went to waste. UP, to its credit, stuck to its plans, preferring to go for open goals and constantly entering the Soorma circle, the attacks orchestrated by Hardik Singh’s tireless brilliance right through the middle of the field.

Eight minutes into the third quarter, Floris Wortelboer’s aerial cross from the half line was brought down perfectly by Chirmako near the baseline before Jobanpreet Singh deflected his pass to double the lead. The game also saw India veterans Lalit Upadhyay and Akashdeep Singh displaying why they continue to be regarded highly on the domestic circuit, using their experience to team up with youngsters like Gurjot Singh and Chirmako to create space out of nowhere. Akashdeep got his team’s third in the 58th minute, slapping hard into an empty goal after Hardik had done all the hard work from the 23-yard line to the other side.

Soorma earned as many as 10 penalty corners – four of them back-to-back and two at the stroke of full time – but could not find a way past goalkeeper James Mazarelo and Lars Balk as the first rusher, quick off the line and denying any opening or line of sight to Harmanpreet Singh, who took six of those PCs. Despite a semblance of a fight towards the end, however, Soorma was completely outplayed.

UPR 3 (Sudeep Chirmako 2, Jobanpreet Singh 38, Akashdeep Singh 57) bt SHC 0