Mumbai : Debutants Bombay Republicans dished out another gallant display and were unfortunate to concede a goal from a penalty stroke at the death and went down fighting 1-2 to Western Railway in a Super Division match of the MHAL (Mumbai Hockey Association Limited) League – 2016, and played at the MHAL Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate, on Sunday evening.
The spirited Republicans side took a first half lead through a fine deflection by Vikram Yadav in the 12thminute. However, the formidable Western outfit who struggled against the enterprising youngster managed to restore parity through Manjinder Singh in the 57th minute before they earned a penalty stroke in the final minute and drag flick specialist Amit Rohidas made no mistake in scoring the winner, much to the dismay of the Republicans boys.
The Bombay Republican youngsters, who had held Indian Navy to a 3-3 draw in the last outing, produced a brilliant collective performance. They showed excellent understanding and teamwork and with some fine anticipation and timely tackles they managed to unsettle and break the rhythm of their senior and experienced opponents. Seasoned defender Conroy Remedios combined perfectly with skipper Kartik Sharma, Navin Khertkar and Govind Rawat to form a compact defence line and did not give the Western forwards much room to maneuver inside their territory. The midfielders Vikram Yadav, Moses Pullanthara, Vikram Singh and Tikaram Thakulla were the ideal linkmen as they supported the defence and also created openings for the forwards
