Haryana pull chain on Railways

Haryana coach Baldev Singh admitted he never expected a result like this in their favour. The same Indian Railways side had beaten them by a four-goal margin in the final of the Nationals. “The girls played seriously. The ‘keeper did a good job too,” he said.

Captain Suman Rani was all smileswhen she met the press. “We were never afraid of the big names. We played with full confidence and to our potential.”

That was probably the secret of the Haryana success. It was the first time in this championship that the Railways were denied a goal in the regulation time and extra-time. On the other hand, there were a number of threatening moves orchestrated by the Haryana forwards among whom Surinder Kaur and Simarjeet Kaur dazzled.

Railway coach Ashok Diwan and captain Sandeep Kaur admitted that they had played badly and so lost. Kaur also pointed her accusing fingers at “poor umpiring”. For instance, she picked the goal they had scored which was disallowed.

The first-half had both the teams playing with some caution. Railways knew very well the Haryana pace would put them in trouble. Haryana too were well aware of the Railways capabilities. Still, there were attacks and counter-attacks in good numbers.

The match picked up tempo in the second session as both teams started hunting for goals inearnest. The Railway attack-line advanced with precise passes. Jyothi Kullu, Pritam Siwach, Manjinder Kaur and Fardina Ikka were in an aggressive mood. But the Haryana defence, bolstered by their half-line, stood firm with sure and bold tackles.