Army XI outclassed Punjab Police 5-1 to top the quarter-final group 'B' in the Indian Oil Servo All India Beighton Cup hockey tournament in Kolkata on Thursday.
C S Xalxo, Cyprin Aind, Avtar Singh, Suresh Kumar and D Mandik found the target for the winners, while Baljit Singh Dhillon was the lone scorer for Punjab Police in the fast-paced match at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club ground.
Both the sides are already through to the semi-finals, but Army XI finished as group champions having won all their three matches. Punjab Police secured the second spot, with two victories and a loss.
The Armymen went ahead in the fourth minute when Xalxo converted the first penalty corner of the day, and bolstered the lead in the 10th minute with skipper Aind sounding the board following a combined move.
The cops pressed hard and earned three back-to-back penalty corners towards the close of the session, but failed to capitalise on the chances.
Trailing 0-2 at the breather, Punjab Police upped the ante in the second half and reduced the margin through Baljit Singh Dhillon who struck a field goal in the 44th minute.
But only three minutes later, Avtar Singh, in a brilliant piece of opportunism, clinically hit home after a pass from the left to make the scoreline 3-1.
Army XI continued their onslaught and at the stroke of the hour, Suresh Kumar converted a penalty corner, before Mandik netted from a similar set piece in the 64th minute to make the final tally 5-1.
In the day's earlier match in the same group, Tamil Nadu XI blanked Bombay XI 3-0.
Jagan Senthil, Prabhakaran and Nagen Diran got the goals for the winners in the game which was of only academic interest as both the sides were already out of the tournament having lost both their earlier outings.
