Dabang Mumbai pulled off a miraculous effort to turn around a 0-3 deficit with 4 field goals in 9 minutes to beat Delhi Waveriders away from home. The Alphas scored past Devon Manchester 4 times in the final quarter to stun the home crowd and propel themselves to 4th in the table.
Both the teams came into the match with contrasting fortunes. The home team had suffered 3 back to back losses while the Alphas were looking for their third consecutive win as they looked to break into the top 4 with a win. Sticking with a winning combination, coach Jay Stacy played the same line up to face the Waveriders at the Shivaji Hockey Stadium in Delhi.
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The first major action of the first quarter came the way of the home team, but Harmanpreet Singh was at hand to deflect the ball away to safety. The visitors replied strongly by making 3 penetrations in the opposition circle in the first 10 minutes, but failed to trouble David Manchester. Both the teams kept possession for the final 5 minutes without making any inroads in the opposition territory as the quarter ended goalless.
The crowd erupted 7 minutes into the second quarter when Steven Edwards waltzed his way into the Alphas’ circle and pushed the ball past an onrushing David Harte to open the scoring.
GOAL! 22’ Delhi Waveriders 2-0 Dabang Mumbai: Steven Edwards (FG)
Florian Fuchs led the Alphas’ response, but the final ball was lacking and the home team kept their lead till the end of the half to the delight of their coach Cedric D’Souza.
An action-packed final quarter
The third quarter saw the team in Red push hard for the equaliser, but a counter attack by the home team won them a penalty corner after a foul right outside the circle. Rupinder Pal Singh made no mistake as he steered the ball into the top corner, beyond the reach of the goalkeeper to extend his team’s lead.
GOAL! 39’ Delhi Waveriders 3-0 Dabang Mumbai: Rupinder Pal Singh (PC)
The third quarter ended without any further change to the score, but the drama was yet to unfold at the Shivaji Hockey Stadium.
4 minutes into the final quarter, Danish Mujtaba brought the visitors back in the match when he deflected a dangerous ball in beyond Manchester to give the visitors hope of getting their first win against Delhi Waveriders.
GOAL! 49’ Delhi Waveriders 3-2 Dabang Mumbai: Danish Mujtaba (FG)
The game was turned on its head when Nilakanta Sharma looped the ball over the helpless Waveriders goalkeeper after Roshan Minz deflected Vikas Sharma’s pass from the edge of the circle.
GOAL! 52’ Delhi Waveriders 3-4 Dabang Mumbai: Nilakanta Sharma (FG)
After the home team were reduced to 10 men for a yellow card to Justin Reid-Ross, the Alphas applied the finishing touches to the brilliant comeback. Manpreet tapped the ball into the empty net after Andrew Philpott deflected the ball into his path.
GOAL! 57’ Delhi Waveriders 3-6 Dabang Mumbai: Manpreet (FG)
There was more to come from the same source as a minute later, Manpreet smashed a reverse shot beyond Manchester to apply the icing on the cake.
GOAL! 58’ Delhi Waveriders 3-8 Dabang Mumbai: Manpreet (FG)
The buzzer sounded soon after to signal Dabang Mumbai’s first ever win over Delhi Waveriders. The Alphas move up to fourth
