By IANS
Chandigarh : Hyderabad Sultans put paid to the aspirations of Maratha Warriors, edging them out 1-0 to enter the semi-finals of the Premier Hockey League (PHL) at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here Wednesday.
Sultans took the lead in the first quarter of the match and held on to that one However, all the credit should go to their young defence consisting of Samir Baxla and Diwakar Ram and Dutch import goal-keeper Oscar Ter Weeme, who thwarted Warriors repeated raids.
Sultans took the lead in the 14th minute through Johnson Ekka.
From there, the Warriors dominated the proceedings with more ball possession and had a better share of exchanges but found a Himalayan barrier in Samir Baxla and Diwakar Ram in the Sultans’ defence.
Both the junior India campers had a field day as they were full of energy denying space to the rival forwards Shivender Singh and Pakistani Rehan Butt, who displayed brilliantly show in the first three matches but could not give his best due to an injury.
Warriors earned three short corners but did not have a penalty corner specialist to convert. Their Dutch import Loijen Melchior tried his hand and sent three powerful flicks but all were saved by his Dutch counterpart Oscar in the rival goal.
With this defeat, Warriors are out of the tournament finishing with just seven points, while Sultans have 11 points and are currently third on the table.
Oscar was declared man of the match.