Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 17: Bolstered by the addition of Moritz Furste and eminent coach Mark William Hager, Orissa-based franchise Kalinga Lancers will look for a positive start when they meet their nemesis UP Wizards in the inaugural match of the HIL-IV at the flood-lit Kalinga Stadium here, Monday.
Lancers are wary about Wizards’ strength. They have not beaten the UP side yet in the four outings between the two sides. “Yes we know that they are a very strong side. But we will give them a pretty tough fight,” stated skipper Furste. “We are well prepared and our team is balanced this time with the blend of talented youngsters and experienced players. The home advantage will also be there and we will also enjoy the passionate support of
home fans.”
“The first couple of games are pretty important for us. We want to win those and get some sort of momentum into the tournament,” he said.
UP have more drag-flickers and Lancers’ striker Gurjinder Singh said Sunday that the opposition will not get much advantage of it because of the new field goal rule. However the onus will be on the defenders of the Lancers which comprise mainly of Oriya youngsters like Dipsan Tirkey, Anand Lakra, Amit Rohidas and Stanley Victor Minz to keep the UP strikers at bay.
On the other hand Wizards have also left no stone unturned in their preparations. “In the last edition we won both our matches against Lancers. But this time both the teams are new with good players. So an exciting encounter will be on cards,” stated Indian striker Akashdeep Singh.
Coach Roger Van Gent seemed optimistic about his team’s chances. “We have players from the Indian team as well as good overseas talents. They have good coordination among themselves. Fourth position was a good performance last year. But we will be looking to go the extra mile this year with the new team,” he stated.
