Rourkela: Hyderabad Toofans lost to Team Gonasika 1-3 in the shoot-outs but the one point they earned following the 3-3 draw at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday helped them to secure a place in the semifinals of the Hockey India League.
Thanks to the draw, they finished with 18 points from 10 matches and will finish among the top-four due to better goal difference.
However, the final standing will be known only after the doubleheader on Wednesday when Soorma Hockey Club will take on Bengal Tigers and UP Rudras will face off against Tamil Nadu Dragons.
It might not have gone their way if Gonasika had scored the winner in the dying seconds of the match. With the game locked at 3-3, Araijeet Singh Hundal played the ball from the right and Jack Waller dived in to get a touch. But goalkeeper Dominic Dixon came out rushing and blocked his shot and the game went into the shoot-outs.
Dixon, however, failed to be the saviour in the shootouts and Gonasika came out on top.
Earlier, Hyderabad Toofans had the perfect start to the game as Jacob Anderson scored within the first 20 seconds of the pushback. Things got even better five minutes later as Tim Brand doubled the lead for Toofans.
However, the momentum of the game shifted in almost no time and Gonasika pulled one back in the 12th minute when they won a penalty stroke following their first penalty corner. Victor Charlet stepped up and converted with ease.
Going into the second quarter, Gonasika kept up the pressure and won their second penalty stroke of the night nine minutes into the restart. This time, Araijeet scored when he put the ball into the right of the goal as goalkeeper Dominic Dixon went the other way.
But Gonasika’s joy was short-lived as Toofans got back into the lead in the next minute when they won their first PC of the night. Although they failed to convert it, they won a retake and Amandeep Lakra put it into the roof of the net with a powerful drag-flick to make it 3-2.
However, with five minutes left in the game, Charlet scored from the PC to make it 3-3 and take it into the shoot-outs.