Customs withstand CR resurgence

Customs withstand CR resurgence
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MARCH 15: Mumbai Customs withstood a second-half resurgence by Central Railway to win their Mumbai Hockey Association Super League match 3-1 at the Mahindra Stadium, here on Wednesday.

Vijay Alphonso struck in the 21st and 32nd minutes but was denied a hat-trick chance when Stanley Fernandes converted a stroke in the 62nd minute. Haseebuddin equalised for CR in the 27th minute but scores were level only for five minutes.

Customs have won four, drawn one and lost two matches while Railways have a 4-1-3 record so far in the League.

Quite unlike its suburban service, Central Railway accelerated, late though, and occupied the Customs half with greater regularity after the break but goals remained elusive. With Customs ensuring a win with a cushion of first-half goals and stout defence, CR struggled with their own inability to convert half, and sometimes, full chances.

Customs, on the contrary, recovered from the warm-up stage pretty quickly with Alphonso putting the scoreboard in motion. Majib Qazi's cross from the right found Fernandes across the field with enough precision for the latter to wait before making his next move.

The next move was the right one for Customs as the 20-year-old relayed one in front to Alphoso, the ball brushing past custodian Arun Gurung's probing pads. Alphonso collected well, despite the deflection, and scored.

With Haseebuddin scoring off a penalty corner, Alphnoso put the equation back in Customs' favour, albeit with little help from the CR defence. Adolph Colaco's pass should have stopped with Haseebuddin, who quickly undid all the goodwork by letting it slip past.

Alphonso, with the ball stuck to his stick like a magnet, was caught on the wrongfoot but managed to recover and score.

A few penalty corners notwithstanding, CR were seldom close to narrowing the margin. Goalkeeper Anson Thomas padded away a firm hit off a 47-minute penalty corner from CR's Rajendra Yadav, who later collected a green card.