Rourkela, Jan 10
The Vedanta Kalinga Lancers secured their second successive win of the season, beating Team Gonasika 2-1 in their Hockey India League (HIL) 2024-25 match at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Thursday. Antoine Kina (28`) and Aran Zalewski (33`) scored for the Kalinga Lancers while SV Sunil (14`) scored Team Gonasika’s solitary goal.

The win sees the Lancers move up to third place in the league standings with seven points. Gonasika, meanwhile, are in seventh place with four points.

In their last two matches, the Kalinga Lancers took the lead in the opening five minutes via Thierry Brinkman. That was not to be on Thursday as Gonasika controlled possession and got the first decent chance of the match. SV Sunil, however, was unable to put away the opportunity from a promising position. The Lancers won the first penalty corner of the match following a good run by Gursahibjit Singh. Alexander Hendrickx’s drag flick flew wide off the goal.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 14th minute as Sunil bagged his second goal of the tournament. From a free hit, the ball was played to Jack Waller who squared it across goal. Sunil was in the right place to sweep the ball past Krishan Bahadur Pathak in goal. Araijeet Singh Hundal came close to doubling his side’s lead in the 21st minute. Waller smashed a pass from inside his own half to Hundal near the circle. The Indian forward took a touch and ended up sending his shot well wide of the goal.

Though the Lancers scored the equaliser in the 23rd minute as Antoine Kina dribbled his way into the circle before playing the ball to Nicolas Bandurak who swept the ball past goalkeeper Oliver Payne. Umpire Coen van Bunge, however, ruled out the goal in a contentious manner. Having asked TV umpire Anand Dangi to check the goal, Van Bunge chalked out the goal as he ruled that Kina had hit the ball above Lee Morton’s knee in the buildup despite Dangi saying he found no evidence for the goal to be ruled out.

The Lancers deservedly levelled the score in the 28th minute with Kina scoring his first goal of the tournament. The Gonasika defence failed to clear the ball away from their circle with Kina eventually winning possession before unleashing an unstoppable hit past Payne.

The Lancers had a couple of half chances but were unable to convert as the first half ended 1-1. The home side took the lead in the 33rd minute thanks to a well-taken goal by captain Aran Zalewski. Hendrickx played the ball inside the circle which was deflected towards goal by Zalewski. Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera’s vision was impeded by three players in front of him as the ball sneaked past him into goal.

Gonasika won their first penalty corner in the 43rd minute. Struan Walker, who has scored a goal from a penalty corner in the tournament, saw his drag flick saved well by Pathak in goal.

The fourth quarter was a cagey affair as the Lancers held firm in defence even as Gonasika struggled to create any decent chances.

The Lancers could have put the tie to bed in the 53rd minute but for Dilpreet Singh’s poor finishing. Angad Bir Singh showed exceptional 3D skills to beat a couple of defenders and make his way to the goal line. Angad Bir reversed the ball towards the penalty spot. Goalkeeper Payne had come off the line to close down Angad Bir’s angle leaving Dilpreet with the whole goal to aim for. The Indian player flew in only to scoop his attempt wide of the goal.

As the clock wound down, Gonasika threw everything they had to try and get a goal back only to be denied by a solid Lancers defence. After a shaky start to their season, the Lancers held on to secure their second win in a row in the season.

HIL 2024-25: Vedanta Kalinga Lancers pip Team Gonasika in cagey match