Ranchi Rhinos beat Delhi Waveriders to win Hero Hockey India League

Ranchi Rhinos had never managed to beat Delhi Waveriders in their three previous face-offs in the league phase. But on Sunday, they delivered the ‘winning punch’ when it really mattered the most, overcoming the green brigade with a splendid come-from-behind 2-1 win at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi.

In the end, stuff like tabletoppers, extended winning run were thrown out of the window as the Red Machine cornered glory.

Egged on by a boisterous home crowd, Ranchi Rhinos stepped on the accelerator from the starting hooter, weaving a nice pattern of passes and dominating midfield play, rendering Delhi Waveriders silent watchers in the initial stages of the opening quarter.Rhinos appeared to have extra josh, running in hard on both flanks with their midfielders and defenders working well as a unit. Australian Fergus Kavanagh was simply superb for the Rhinos – he kept thwarting the Waveriders from mounting any incisive raids and always eager to push forward whenever required.

It was Kavanagh who drilled in a nice pass upfront but the in-form Mandeep Singh failed to tap it home. Ranchi were stoutly served by captain Moritz Fuerste, Kothajit Singh and Manpreet Singh as they had a busy day in the midfield.

The goalless first quarter scoreline hardly reflects the frenetic pace at which the game was played. The Delhi forwardline, which hardly did anything of note in the first twenty minutes of play, lived to their true billing and nudged ahead 1-0 in the 25th minute when New Zealander Simon Child slammed home off a mishit from Matt Ghodes.

Ranchi leaked the goal almost against the run of play and tried hard to regroup. They forced their first penalty corner in the 31st minute but Delhi’s German goal-tender Nicholas Jacobi foiled the drag-flick of Moritz Fuerste.

Delhi sounded more bullish in the third quarter and Simon Child nearly had his second goal of the match and sixth of the league but his reverse hit sailed wide.

The Waveriders seemed to have an extra spring in their strides in the third quarter. They earned their first penalty corner in the 40th minute, which resulted into two follow-on PCs but Rupinder Pal Singh was unable to make the most of it.

Stung by the slew of Delhi sallies, Rhinos pressed hard for the equalizer and engineered their first penalty corner in the 44th minute. Ashley Jackson’s rasping flick was well blocked by Jacobi even as the frustration of the home crowd enhanced every minute.

Ranchi had their best chance to restore parity in the final minute of the third quarter but Mandeep Singh muffed up an opportunity to deflect a precise Moritz Fuerste slap towards the Delhi goalmouth.

Down 0-1 going into the fourth quarter, Rhinos really needed to play out of their skins if they didn’t want to disappoint their home fans.

Rhinos’ top goal-scorer Mandeep Singh essayed a nifty move but was unfairly shoved by Rupinder Pal Singh, resulting in their second penalty corner. Moritz Fuerste sold a dummy after Manpreet Singh injected it before South African Austin Smith whipped home to secure the much-needed equaliser in the 56th minute.

Ranchi looked unstoppable after scoring the equalizer, orchestrating attacking moves at will. A sublime pass from Ashley Jackson found Manpreet on the right who earned their third penalty corner after Rupinder carried the ball.

Manpreet Singh first injected it and later scored the match-winner from Jackson’s deflection seven minutes from the final hooter.

South African coach Gregg Clark was on cloud nine. “It’s an amazing feeling. I just can’t believe that we have won the HIL.”

Ranchi Rhinos captain Moritz Fuerste was delighted with the win. “This win is really special for all of us, we all cherish this win.”Delhi Waveriders captain Sardar Singh was disappointed at finishing second-best. “We would try to improve on this performance next year.”