Mohali: Drag flicker Sandeep Singh struck thrice as title contender Jaypee Punjab Warriors blanked Delhi Waveriders 7-0 in a Hockey India League match on Saturday.
In the first quarter of the match, table-toppers Punjab Warriors kept the visitors busy with their continuous attacks, enjoying more ball possession.
In the 10th minute, Punjab Warriors earned a penalty corner where the teams' deadly duo - Jamie Dwyer and Sandeep Singh took their favourite positions.
Among the world's best drag-flickers, Australia's Jamie injected the ball into the pack where Sandeep Singh didn't waste a moment to hit the ball hard into the box, beating Delhi Waveriders' defenders and goal-keeper Rassie Pieterse.
The Barry Dancers boys' aggressive efforts got another success in 14th minute when midfielder Gurmail Singh attacked from the left flank and chipped the ball towards forward SV Sunil, who out-foxed the three players and a goal-keeper and sent the ball into the net.
In the second quarter, Delhi Waveriders came with better game-plans to fight back in the match but they failed to match attacking moves of Warriors. However, the Delhi-team kept-on attacking.
On the other side, Jaypee Punjab Warriors thwarted the Waveriders' attacks and counter-attacked to keep the visitors busy through-out the quarter.
Delhi Waveriders managed to earn a penalty corner, which was foiled by JPW's strong defence, followed by a penalty stroke in the 27th minute. Delhi Waveriders got the best chance to open their account and the hitter only need to beat the world's best goal-keeper Jaap Stockman.
New Zealand defender Andrew Hayward took the shot and he aimed the right-bottom corner spot of the goal-box. Hayward smashed the ball hard on the spot but it hit the goal-post and went outside. Delhi Waveriders missed a golden opportunity to score their first goal and the scoreline stood 2-0 by the end of the half-time.
In the third quarter, both the teams stepped-on the field with more aggression. Sardar Singh-led Delhi Waveriders' performance improved in each quarter whereas Warriors didn't o lose their grip.
In the 34th minute, Jaypee Punjab Warriors counter-attacked with a long pass to their Australian midfielder Simon Orchard, who was standing in the D between two defenders. Simon received the ball in the air and shot it hard into the net without giving a moment to react to the defenders and the South-African goal-keeper Rassie.
Simon scored his first goal of the HHIL 2015 and the Australian player celebrated the goal by jumping into the stand and hugged his fans.
The third goal of the Warriors put a huge pressure on Delhi Waveriders and the Delhi-team seemed losing ground.
The Jamie Dwyer-led team continued their domination in the match and kept-on charging on their opponents. In the 45th minute, they managed to earn another penalty corner and this time again, Sandeep Singh converted the opportunity with his powerful shot into the net.
With Sandeep's seventh goal of the HHIL 2015, Jaypee Punjab Warriors took the score to 4-0 by the end of the third quarter.
Continuing the scoring spree, the League's top contenders Jaypee Punjab Warriors scored to more goals in the fourth quarter. They received a penalty corner in the 47th minute and it was beautifully converted into the fifth goal by Australia's best penalty corner specialist Christopher Ciriello.
After three minutes, the forward players attacked again from all fronts by passing ball from one end to other. This time, Australian midfielder Robert Hammond reflected a shot into the box while sliding down on the blue turf and scored the sixth goal for Jaypee Punjab Warriors in 50th minute.
However, the day belonged to Sandeep Singh who scored his third goal after three minutes through a penalty corner. The highest goal scorer of the League Sandeep again proved that why he is considered as the best penalty corner specialist after he scored the seventh goal of the match in 53rd minute and the score-line stood 7-0 by the final whistle.
After the humiliating defeat, the defending champions Delhi Waveriders failed to earn a single point from the match and remained at fourth position.
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