Former India skipper Sandeep Singh did score via a penalty corner in the 59th minute to reduce the deficit to two goals, but it was a little too late for the defending champions as Dabang Mumbai registered their first win of the season.
Trailing 3-4 and having to play with one man less and a quarter to go, Dabang Mumbai had every reason to feel disheartened against the Ranchi Rays. After all, they had lost four straight games. But opting for the tried and tested notion of attack being the best form of defence proved fruitful as the hosts ran riot in the last two quarters to register their first win of the season with a 7-5 victory.
Mumbai's attacking instincts showed right from the word go with the hosts earning three penalty corners in the first 10 minutes. Mumbai finally broke the deadlock with their fourth chance in the 11th minute. Harmanpreet, the drag flicker, instead of taking the shot first time, decided to pass it to Diwakar Ram, who slotted the ball comfortably into the right corner.
Ranchi started the second quarter on the attack and cut short Mumbai's lead with skipper Ashley Jackson pulling one back for the visitors via a penalty corner in the 18th minute.
One would have expected Mumbai to go into a shell with the goal conceded. But their attacking prowess resulted in them getting their noses in front within three minutes. This time it was the other skipper, Matthew Swann, who was at the receiving end of an attack from the left flank to score a field goal to give his side a two-goal cushion.
The hosts did end the second quarter with a 3-1 advantage but went down to 10 men after forward Affan Yousuf was given a red card for hitting Barry Middleton. Further misfortune followed as Harmanpreet missed the chance to give his side a 4-1 lead with a missed penalty stroke in the 35th minute. Three minutes later, the scores were equal.
Sarvanjit Singh made the most of his first-time shot to beat the goalkeeper on the left post. Things went from bad to worse for Mumbai as Jackson grabbed his second goal of the night, another penalty corner to give his side a 4-3 lead in the 41st minute.
The urgency to get anything out of the game showed in the hosts wasting no time at the restart post the goal. Within seconds, skipper Swann's well-timed pass found midfielder Nilakanta Sharma in the circle, who finished off a brilliant counter attack to give his side a 5-4 lead.
The match turned on its head with the best being saved for the last. Seven minutes later and Mumbai were 7-4 up. Swann once again making a darting run on the right flank put in a cross to find Florian Fuchs. The German striker needed no second invitation off a deflection from the post to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Former India skipper Sandeep Singh did score via a penalty corner in the 59th minute to reduce the deficit to two goals, but it was a little too late for the defending champions as Dabang Mumbai registered their first win of the season.
Stopwatch: Dabang Mumbai 7 (D Ram 11-pc, M Swann 21-fg, N Sharma 41-fg, F Fuchs 48-fg) bt Ranchi Rays 5 (A Jackson 18-pc, 41-pc, Sarvanjit Singh 38-fg, Sandeep Singh 59-pc)
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