Deepak Thakur sent in a stunning deflection to snatch a thrilling last-minute victory for Chandigarh Dynamos in a Tier one Premier Hockey League match in Chandigarh on Friday night.
Thakur was in dazzling form and fashioned Dynamos second straight victory scoring both the goals to edge out Maratha Warriors 2-1, who tasted their first defeat at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium.
The local favourites started on an attacking note and scored in the very third minute. An unmarked Thakur, receiving a pass from Rajpal Singh and gracefully turned around to effect a stinging reverse strike that left Warriors' custodian Adrian D'Souza stranded in the goal. (1-0)
Warriors earned a short corner in the very next minute after the goal but Shivender failed to connect a direct hit by Imran Warsi.
Stung by the reverse, Maratha Warriors increased the pace of the game and called the shots with quality ball possession but the hard work put in by their forwards Adnan Zakir and Shivender Singh did not yield positive results as Dynamos' defence led by Jugraj Singh and Sandeep Singh held their own to thwart the raids.
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In the second quarter, Warriors made a determined attempt to come back into the game but the equalizer looked elusive.
In the 27th minute, they made repeated raids but could only provide some anxious moments in the Dynamos' defence. A Bharat shot was saved by Dynamos goalkeeper Baljit Singh and Shivender too could not make use of the rebound. Later, Hemant too got a half chance but hit straight to the goalkeeper.
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