Young Affan Yousuf scored two goals as Dabang Mumbai defeated Delhi Waveriders 3-2 in a closely-fought round robin match to stay on top of the leaderboard in the fifth edition of Hockey India League, in Mumbai, on Monday.
Affan twin strike strike in the 29th and 30th minute earned his team five points from the encounter and register third straight win on home soil at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium.
The double strike also made Affan the leading goal scorer in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
Playing against the home team, who celebrated an incredible 10-4 win against defending champions Jaypee Punjab Warriors in their previous game, the Waveriders opened the game patiently, rotating the ball between themselves waiting for an opening goal.
Despite several circle penetrations, it took till 12 minutes for the first real chance to materialise as the visitors won the first penalty corner of the game. The opportunity went wasted though as skipper Rupinder Pal Singh flick was blocked by defender Sander De Wijn.
The second quarter though belonged to Affan who continued his splendid form this season. He pumped two goals past Delhi Waveriders goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch taking his personal tally to seven goals this season and fetched his team the much-needed 3-0 lead.
The first goal was created by Harmanpreet Singh's long ball forward to Affan, who beat Harjeet Singh to find the net in the 29th minute.
Almost immediately, Affan struck again when his team desperately attempted to convert their first penalty corner of the game.
Then Justin Reid-Ross earned Delhi Waveriders their first goal when he successfully converted a penalty corner in the 43rd minute to narrow the deficit to 3-1.
The visitors earned another penalty corner and this time Rupinder converting the opportunity successfully to narrow the goal difference to 3-2.
