NEW DELHI, June 24: The Road to victory was not easy as Indian Railways must have thought it would be. The debutantes had to sweat it out in the scorching sun for more than half-an-hour to squeeze out a hard-fought 1-0 win against Mumbai in Group E league match of the 29th Junior National Hockey Championship today.Services added another feather to their cap with an impressive 4-1 win over Andhra Pradesh. Bengal had an easy day beating Rajasthan 9-0, while Punjab and Sind Bank defeated Uttar Pradesh 4-0, Karnataka thrashed a depleted Jammu and Kashmir side 8-1 and Bihar and Gujarat fought to a 1-1 draw.Railways were aided by internationals Hasrat Qureshi and Lazrus Barla, apart from half-a-dozen other players who had helped the senior side win the National title at Bangalore earlier this month.On the other hand, Mumbai too had an international in their captain Romeo Albuguerque.If solid defensive strategy was the highlight of Railways' game, Mumbai matched their opponent's skills and had an answer to all counters. Clogging the defense at the time of danger often resulted in penalty corners which both teams failed to capitalise on.After the barren first half, Railways utilised the first opportunity that came their way. The 37th minute saw a beautiful move coming up between Navsher Singh, Ajinder Pal Singh and Rajiv Mishra. Navsher Singh sent in a timely pass from the right and the long-haired Mishra found the elusive opening.
