Hosts Dabang Mumbai defeated Uttar Pradesh Wizards 6 - 3 at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday to keep their maiden semi - final berth hopes alive in the Coal India Hockey India League (HIL).
With this win Mumbai finish the group stage with 25 points from 10 games while Wizards have 24 point.
The first quarter began with Mumbai playing attacking hockey and pressing hard to score. They got success through a stunning field goal in the 13th minute from Gurjant Singh taking a 2 - 0 lead at the first quarter.
Each field goal is counted as two goals in the tournament.
The second quarter began with the ball possession shifting to the Wizards. The visitors made some good moves but could not convert. The Wizards however did not lose hope and kept on pressing hard.
Their efforts yielded a result in the form of a penalty corner in the 19th minute, and V. R. Raghunath made no mistake in converting it into a goal, reducing the score to 2 - 1.
Wizards who were playing attacking hockey in the second quarter struck for the second time through a field goal from Chinglensana Singh in the last minute of the second quarter, giving Wizards a 3 - 2 lead.
The first half came to an end with the score board reading 3 - 2 in favour of Wizards.
Both the teams tried hard to score in the third quarter.
Wizard however could not sustain their lead for long, as one brilliant move from Mumbai in the 42nd minute resulted in a spectacular field goal from star German forward Florian Fuchs.
The third quarter ended with Mumbai leading 4 - 3 in the match.
Mumbai extended their lead in the final quarter, in the 59th minute, through another field goal from Affan Yousuf taking the score board to 6 - 3 ensuring the host's keep their hopes of making it to the semi - finals alive.
The last league match of the HIL will be played between Delhi Waveriders and Kalinga Lancers on Wednesday.
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