Gold Cup hockey: UP XI rally to down MHAL XI to top group

Gold Cup hockey: UP XI rally to down MHAL XI to top group Mumbai, Mar 8 (PTI Uttar Pradesh XI fought back from behind to overcome Mumbai Hockey Association Limited (MHAL) XI 3-1 in a concluding Pool D league match of the 53rdAll India Bombay Gold Cup hockey championship here Friday. UP topped the three-team pool to enter the quarter finals along with the losers who finished second.

Later, last year's runners-up Bharat Petroleum and Punjab and Sind Bank played out a 1-1 draw and both made it to the last eight from Pool C. MHAL playmaker Osaf Ur Rehman rocked the UP citadel with a strike in the very second minute.

Before the latter fought back and restored parity through Mehkeet Singhs penalty corner conversion in the 14thminute. Later,Deepak Yadav scored two goals, the first from a field effort in the 45thminute and the second through a penalty corner in the 51stminute, to help UP finish on top of the pool with four points.

MHAL, with three points, were second while Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, bowed out with one point. BPCL took the lead against Punjab and Sind Bank through skipperSher Singh's goal in the 28thminute before the bankers scored the equaliser through Navdeep Singh in the 37thminute.

MHAL XI will face-off against Punjab and Sind Bank, while BPCL and UP XI will line up against each other in the quarter-finals..