Indian Railways (RSPB), the three-time defending champion, was far from its best but edged Indian Army 2-1 in the Pool-A match of the 97th edition of the All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the SDAT Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Friday.

While Railways showed some impressive defensive work, its attack lacked the incisiveness expected of a side that has won three consecutive titles. Army, in contrast, pressed higher and advanced with greater purpose for much of the contest.

Railways took the lead in the 12th minute when Lovepreet Singh, after taking a penalty corner, positioned himself in front of the goal to deflect Jasjit Singh’s drag-flick past the goalkeeper.

In the second quarter, Pratap Lakra’s drag-flick off Arjun Sharma’s penalty corner struck Rahul’s arm on the goal-line, earning Railways a penalty stroke. However, Lakra hit the crossbar.

Army made Railways pay for its missed opportunity when Ankush tapped in from close range in the 28th minute to restore parity.

Railways squandered two penalty corners in the fourth quarter, with Lakra’s flicks being thwarted by the goalkeeper. It finally found the breakthrough in the 57th minute, when Yogember Rawat converted Lovepreet’s penalty-corner delivery with a drag-flick past the goalkeeper.

The results: Pool-A: Indian Railways 2 (Lovepreet Singh 12-pc, Yogember Rawat 57-pc) bt Indian Army 1 (Ankush 28).

Pool-B: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. 5 (Devindar Walmiki 4-pc, Mandeep Singh 5 & 57, Subhan Abid 24, Charanjeet Singh 54) bt Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 1 (K. Muthukumar 49).