Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra
Bhubaneswar, Feb 8: Ranchi Rays put up a splendid performance in a high intensity game to beat hosts Kalinga Lancers 3-2 in a match of HIL-IV at the Kalinga Stadium here Monday. So overall the home leg did not turn out well for the hosts as they lost two of their three games and also slipped from the top of the points table.
The visiting team rode on a brilliant field goal by man of the match Md. Amir Khan and a penalty corner conversion by skipper Ashley Jackson to register a stunning victory. For the hosts Dharamvir Singh struck a field goal.
Ranchi started with a lot of confidence and were unlucky in not taking the lead in the very first minute when skipper Ashley Jackson missed from close.
Soon Lancers increased their pace and after Glenn Turner had faltered early on, Dharamvir struck much to joy of the home supporters who had thronged the stadium.
However, the joy was short-lived as Jackson hit the boards for the visitors from a penalty corner to make the scoreline 1-2.
The second quarter produced attacking hockey at its best as both sides went in search of goals. The Lancers came closest to scoring, when they missed a penalty corner by a whisker.
The third quarter was a repetition of the second with goalkeepers from both the teams called upon to effect saves. Andrew Charter of Lancers and Tyler Lovell of Rays were instrumental in keeping the scoreline intact by pulling out some incredible saves. However, the most stunning save was effected by Charter who dove to his right to save a fierce hit by Jackson off a penalty corner.
The fourth quarter began with the Lancers pressing hard to increase their lead. But then they were caught off guard by a quick counter-attack by Ranchi and an opportunistic Amir struck in the 50th minute. The Rays then defended stoutly to hold on to their lead.
Ranchi’s win pushed Lancers to second position with 23 points from eight matches while the defending champions secured the top slot with 27 points from seven games.