Post news Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 24: Having started their HIL 2015 campaign with a massive 6-3 victory over a formidable Ranchi Rays outfit here Thursday, Kalinga Lancers will be oozing confidence when they take on Punjab Warriors at the Hockey Stadium, Mohali Sunday.
However, absence of home advantage and the presence of some of the world’s best players as opponents could take a toll on Lancers’ aspirations. Coach Jude Felix, who considers the Warriors as ‘the strongest team in the League’ also reiterated this fear Saturday.
“While they have not won the League till now, but we still can’t take away the fact that they have some of the best players in their squad,” Felix said while commenting on the Warriors’ 3-3 draw against Dabang Mumbai in their opening tie Friday.
The Warriors have FIH best goalkeeper of 2014 Jaap Stockmann, also called ‘stopmann’ by friends, in their ranks. Jaap successfully thwarted a barrage of shots from Dabang Mumbai’s Tom Boon and Chinglesana Singh Friday.
Trailing 0-1 till the half-time, the Warriors turned the tables in the third quarter as their mercurial skipper Jamie Dwyer and India veteran Sandeep Singh plotted a remarkable comeback. But a last minute hit by Chinglesana went past ‘stopmann’ as his side had to be content with a 3-3 draw.
In contrast, Lancers’ custodian Andrew Charter’s brilliant save in the 56th minute dashed Ranchi Rays’ homes of making a comeback in the tournament opener Thursday.
Apart from Jaap, Jamie and Sandeep, the Warriors’ also have SV Sunil and Dharamvir Singh and Lucas Rey in their ranks. However, the pressure would certainly be on the Warriors as they would aim for an outright victory. Punjab coach Barry Dancer acknowledged the pressure ahead of the match. “The objective from here is to better ourselves. Tomorrow’s (Sunday) match is crucial as they already have a win in their kitty,” he stated Saturday.
Irrespective of the presence of stars in the Punjab side, the Lancers would go into the match for the kill, under the guidance of Felix, whose philosophy for the sport is to play every day for a win.
“We want to win every day. We don’t think much about any side,” he had said after the Thursday’s tie. Felix hopes that the likes of Gurjinder Singh, Lucas Villa, Ryan Archibald, Vickram Kanth would come up with crucial contributions.
