Murugappa Gold Cup Final Set: Navy and BPCL Win Two Shootouts to Knock Out Railways and Army
Both Murugappa Gold Cup semi-finals went to shootouts on Saturday in Chennai, and both favourites went home. Sunday’s final at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium will be Indian Navy against BPCL, at 5:45pm PKT, after the defending champions Railways and the Army both lost on penalties.
The first semi-final looked like Navy’s game, then Railways’ game, then nobody’s. Navy led 1-0 at half-time through Yogesh Singh’s penalty corner in the 27th minute. Railways hit back after the break, Pratap Lakra levelling from a penalty corner in the 39th minute and Atul Deep putting them ahead in the 55th. Navy weren’t done. K Selvaraj equalised in the 57th minute, and with the score locked at 2-2 it went to a shootout, which Navy won 4-2.
That ends Railways’ run. They came into Saturday chasing another title after winning the last three, and they were five minutes from the final. Navy, unbeaten in the pool stage including that 5-5 draw with BPCL, found a way when it mattered most. Selvaraj’s late goal is the one they’ll remember, but holding their nerve in the shootout after giving up the lead late is just as big.
The second semi-final followed a similar script, only tighter. Army led 1-0 at half-time, Akshay Dubey scoring from a penalty corner in the 27th minute. BPCL levelled through Anmol Ekka’s penalty corner in the 35th minute, and 1-1 is how it stayed. BPCL then won the shootout 4-1, the most comfortable margin of the day in the end, even if the game itself was anything but.
What Sunday means
Navy against BPCL is a rematch of their pool game, that wild 5-5 draw on Wednesday when neither side could be separated in ten goals. Don’t expect another ten, finals rarely play out that way, but these two already know they can score against each other, and both have just proved they can win a shootout.
For our money, BPCL’s penalty corner threat gives them a slight edge, with Ekka in scoring form, but Navy’s late comeback against the champions will have them believing this is their year. Either way, a new name goes on the trophy on Sunday, and after two shootouts in one afternoon, nobody in Chennai will be surprised if it takes penalties again.
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