Lucknow: They might have struggled for most part of the tournament but Mumbai Magicians drew curtains to their campaign in the second Hockey India League in style, defeating Uttar Pradesh Wizards 3-2 to register their second consecutive win on Tuesday.
It was Mumbai Magicians' second victory in the tournament this year after having defeated debutants Kalinga Lancers 3-2 in their previous match.
UP Wizards drew the first blood in the 22nd minute through lanky striker Nithin Thimmaiah who scored a field goal. But Mumbai Magicians made a remarkable comeback and pumped in three goals to stun the hosts.
Gurjinder Singh levelled the scores for Mumbai Magicians by converting a penalty corner in the 31st minute before veteran Prabhjot Singh (56th minute) and captain Glenn Turner scored from field efforts within a span of six minutes to take a sizeable lead.
The Wizards, however, reduced the margin of defeat a minute later when skipper V R Raghunath made use of a penalty corner.
By virtue of this win, Mumbai Magicians pocketed five points, finishing fifth in the six-team competition with 18 points from 10 games.
For Uttar Pradesh Wizards it was their fourth loss in HHIL 2014 and finished the league campaign with 28 points from 10 games.
UP Wizards will now travel to Ranchi for their semifinal fixture on Saturday.
In the last league match of HHIL 2014, defending champions Ranchi Rhinos will play Jaypee Punjab Warriors at Ranchi on Wednesday.
Speaking on the 2nd consecutive win Head Coach, M K Kaushik, Mumbai Magicians, said, "It was a great match today but with a few defense lapses, but the end is satisfying. We dominated from the start but it was a slow start. The team has improved with some good attack and defense."
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