BPCL beat Malaysia junior team 1-0 in Murugappa Gold Cup Pool-B in Chennai

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) defeated the Malaysia junior team 1-0 in a Pool-B match of the 97th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup at the SDAT Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Monday, with Sudeep Chirmako scoring the only goal.

Malaysia had arrived in Chennai on Sunday after winning the Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor Bahru on Saturday and looked off-colour following the quick turnaround; BPCL controlled play with repeated raids but was unable to convert several chances, including a penalty stroke.

Chirmako opened the scoring in the third minute from a structured move: a long aerial pass from near the halfway line reached a team-mate close to the right post, who squared the ball to Chirmako in front of goal and the forward finished.

BPCL had a clear opportunity to increase the lead in the 36th minute when Devindar Walmiki took a penalty stroke but sent it wide; Malaysia earned a penalty corner in the 44th minute, and Gunaseelan Dheeressh’s drag-flick was blocked by an advancing defender.

The home side also failed to convert two penalty corners in the final seconds of the match, but held on for the 1-0 win.

In other pool action, Indian Army beat Punjab National Bank 5-2 in Pool-A, with Dhariyashil Jadhav (15), Ankush (21), Cyril Lugun (28-pc), Rohit Irengbam (40) and Ritendra (41) scoring for Indian Army and Naveen Antil (35-pc) and Abhimanyu (50) on target for Punjab National Bank; Pool-B recorded BPCL 1 (Sudeep Chirmako 3) bt Malaysia junior team 0.

The victory was BPCL’s third consecutive win in the tournament and strengthened the side’s prospects of reaching the semifinals.