JONTY Elmes lighted the flare with a hat-trick against India but it was not enough to secure New Zealand a ticket to the final of the 12th Sultan of Johor Cup at the Johor Hockey Stadium in Taman Daya on Friday.
Both teams played out a 3—3 draw in regulation time, a result that put the Indians in a disadvantage for a slot in Saturday’s final. However, India’s fate rest on the results of matches between Great Britain-Japan, and Australia-Malaysia.
The 19-year-old Elmes, who hails from Naples, is currently the leading scorer in the tournament with 10 goals. New Zealand’s Ryan Parr received the Man of the Match award.
Three-time champions India have pooled 10 points to go on top of the table standings at the conclusion of the round-robin matches today, with New Zealand in second spot on nine points.
The Junior Black Sticks were riding high throughout the fourth quarter with a 3-2 lead and were two minutes away from qualifying for the final when ‘disaster’ struck in the form defender Talem Ptriyobarta.
Gurgot Singh had put India 1-1 ahead with a sixth minute field goal but Elmes equalized in the 17th minute via a penalty stroke before Rohit added the second in the same minute from a penalty corner.
Elmes, however, set the stage for a tense finish to put GB ahead 3-2 with a penalty corner (32nd) and a penalty stroke (45th) goal.
New Zealand coach Aaron Ford’s decision to introduce power play two minutes to the end of regulation time was just the right tonic for the Indians who had earlier struggled to find the breakthrough for the equalizer. They earned their 14th penalty corner in the match with 90 seconds remaining and Talem packed a powerful drag-flick past goalkeeper Mathew Ruetsch to end the encounter with a 3-3 draw.
