Celebration time: Glenn Turner of Kalinga Lancers (tonsured head) celebrates after scoring against Delhi Waveriders at the Kalinga Stadium, Friday
Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra
Bhubaneswar: Homecoming proved sweet for Kalinga Lancers as the ruthless hosts rode on a brace by their main striker Australian Glenn Turner to thrash Delhi Waveriders 4-0 in a match of HIL-IV here Friday at the Kalinga Stadium.
The win took the hosts closer to the semifinal berth and also to the top of the league table with 22 points from six games. Ranchi Rays also have the same number of points from an identical number of games, but Lancers went to the top because of a better goal average.
Turner struck in the sixth and 56th minutes respectively to seal an emphatic win for the dominant Lancers who started their three-match home campaign in style.
Lancers started aggressively, but it was the Waveriders who had the first chance in the fourth minute. They missed it and were promptly punished by the tonsured Turner, who broke the opposition defence with a scintillating run down the middle and scored with a deft placement to the left of the Delhi custodian from inside the ‘D’.
Such was the beauty of the strike that the entire stadium stood up to applaud and for the rest of the game the chorus of ‘Turner, Turner’ reverberated within the stadium.
Buoyed by the goal, the hosts applied tremendous pressure on the opposition. Lancers earned their first penalty corner in the 10th minute, but failed to convert it as custodian Devon Manchester dived to his right to thwart a fierce hit. At the fag end of the first quarter, Delhi got a couple of chances, but the Lancers defenders kept the situation under control with some fine man-marking and anticipation.
After a goalless second quarter, the visitors adopted an all out aggressive posture to find the equaliser. However, they found Andrew Charter in the Lancers goal a tough nut to crack. Charter made two brilliant saves, both strikes had the word ‘Goal’ written with capital ‘G’ all over them, in the 35th and 44th minutes respectively. The saves produced huge cheers from the 6,000-odd spectators, who had gathered to witness the game.
The fourth quarter was crucial for the hosts as they had conceded late goals in their previous matches to fritter away winning opportunities. But it seemed that they had learnt from their mistakes and defended stoutly, never allowing complacency to creep in.
Much against the run of play, Lancers got their second goal to make the issue safe. Turner, after a combined move down the middle, found space to sound the boards. Waveriders got a penalty corner in the last minute, but Charter came to the Lancers rescue again with a brilliant diving save.
Lancers will next host Punjab Warriors at the same venue, Sunday.