HIL 2025-26: Tamil Nadu Dragons edges SG Pipers in shootout after frantic 4-4 deadlock

The Hockey India League’s Chennai leg was drawn to a close by a frantic, end-to-end contest that saw Tamil Nadu Dragons and SG Pipers match each other hit-for-hit and end up in a 4-4 deadlock at the end of regulation time.

Dragons goalkeeper Princedeep Singh conceded four penalty strokes in the shootout – all four being converted by Tomas Domene. But his save against Roman Duvekot swung the tie-breaks 5-4 in his side’s favour at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Friday.

The Pipers had the first look at goal, but it was the Dragons who opened the scoring, thanks to a well-disguised variation by captain Amit Rohidas. The chance came in the sixth minute when Tom Craig was pushed to the floor by Ky Willot. From the set piece, Rohidas feigned a dragflick but ended up hitting the ball upright into the left corner past Tomas Santiago.

Dragons thought it found the second goal in the 10th minute after a deflection rolled kindly for Nathan Ephraums to finish. But a referral got the goal disallowed for a foul in the buildup.

Pipers found the equaliser in the 13th minute after David Harte’s clearance off the line fell to Domene at the top of the circle. The Argentine turned to his left and unleashed a tomahawk that nutmegged the keeper and Anand Lakra behind him, who was betting on a goal-line clearance.

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The game settled into a tempo in the second quarter only after a frenzy three-minute period that saw three goals scored.

Dragons edged ahead with a neatly worked field goal – Mohammed Raheel played a line-piercing pass into the circle for Tom Craig, who squared the ball for Paul Kaufmann’s tap-in. Pipers replied in under a minute, winning a penalty corner from which Domene forced a penalty stroke. Pipers’ one-man show continued as Domene stepped up for the stroke too and converted.

But, Dragons restored their lead in the 18th minute through a penalty corner variation. Craig stuck his stick in the path of Blake Govers’ dragflick to send the keeper the wrong way.

Pipers had two chances to pare the scores before the half drew to a close. In the 24th minute, Duvekot drove into the circle from the left, completed a turn to his right and took a shot, missing the right corner of the goal. In the 27th minute, Shamsher Singh’s scoop got to Bram van Battum on the right side of the circle, but once more the strike went wide.

Sandwiched in between was Thomas Sorsby’s swipe at goal for the Dragons, which was denied by Pipers’ keeper Santiago.

Only 15 seconds after the resumption, Craig cracked a shot which missed the goal by a whisker. Pipers took the ball on the very next possession and worked their way into the circle, but the move was undone with Domene’s shot flying over the goal.

Pipers required a penalty corner variation in the 23rd minute to get back in the game. Rupinder Pal Singh fired his dragflick straight at goal, which was then steered into the right corner by Willot’s deflection. But against the run of play, the Dragons succeeded in opening a lead for the fourth time in the match.

Rohidas fired an upright shot into the circle, which was deflected into the goal by local boy Selvaraj Kanagaraj in the 40th minute. Rohidas could have doubled the lead 15 seconds from the end of the third quarter if not for Jarmanpreet Singh’s clearance off the line.

Pipers searched on for an equaliser and came close twice in the final quarter. In the 51st minute, Domene’s dragflick was steered away from the line by Sorsby. Domene stood over another PC in the penultimate minute but saw his attempt deflect off the post.

Pipers still had time for one final try and Aditya Lalage shared a one-two move with Dilpreet Singh on the left baseline to manage a shot past Harte and force the contest into a shootout.

Published on Jan 09, 2026