Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra
Bhubaneswar: Punjab Warriors put up a splendid performance to thrash hosts Kalinga Lancers 4-1 in a match of HIL-IV at the Kalinga Stadium here Sunday. Punjab rode on field goals by Simon Orchard and Satbir Singh to stun the Orissa-based franchise. Glenn Turner had earlier put the hosts ahead converting a penalty corner.
With this win, Warriors jumped to second place in the HIL table with 22 points, the same as Lancers. But the latter continued to hold on to the top spot because of a better goal difference. Lancers play their final home match Monday when they face third-placed Ranchi Rays in the eastern derby.
Lancers were brilliant in the first couple of quarters and were distinctly unlucky to not to be a couple of goals up.
They created a chance in the eighth minute, but Matthew Willis’s fierce hit went over the goalpost. They created a couple of chances after that but failed to utilise those also.
In the second quarter, Warriors had an early chance, but skipper Sardar Singh missed it. Lancers, by now were depending on counter-attacks and were quick to make deep inroads into the opposition territory. However, they failed to produce that final defence-splitting pass and the Warriors held on. In the 28th minute Warriors got their first penalty corner. However, Andrew Charter under the Lancers bar thwarted the attempt.
It seemed as if Lancers were in a mission after the breather. They created an opportunity just a minute into the game, but missed it by a whisker. Then in the 42nd minute the hosts got a penalty corner. Turner deflected a lightening hit by skipper Moritz Fuerste from the left side of ‘D’ to put the hosts ahead.
The last quarter however, spelt doom for the Lancers. It seemed that the disease of conceding late goals had come back to haunt them. Warriors equalised in the 51st minute when Orchard flummoxed a diving Charter to score a field goal to help his side go 2-1 ahead. Then with two minutes to go, Satbir scored another field goal for the visitors to seal an emphatic 4-1win.
“We knew that Lancers are in great form at the moment. So we played according to a gameplan and were successful,” stated Sardar after the match. PNN
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