Bhubaneshwar :Kalinga Lancers rode on Glenn Turner’s twin field strike to cruise to a comfortable 4-0 win over Delhi Waveriders and register their fourth victory in the fourth Hockey India League.
Turner scored two brilliant field goals in the fifth and 56th minutes as Lancers produced an inspirid show before their home crowd.
As expected, the Lancers started the first half on an attacking note and drew the first blood through a spectacular field goal from star Australian Turner as early as in the fifth minute, giving the hosts an early lead of 2-0 as according to new scoring rule in HIL one field goal is counted as two.
After this early jolt, the Waveriders tried hard to strike back on the counter for an equaliser, but a brilliant defensive line of the Lancers ensured the visitors remained unsuccessful in their attempts.
In the course of the first half the Lancers made a few attempts to capitalise on their lead, but the visitors made no mistakes and foiled all the attempts of the hosts.
After the change of ends, the Waveriders pressed hard in search of the equaliser but failed to breach the Lancers’ defensive wall.
The Lancers tried to score a few times on the counter but the the Waveriders kept their game tight enough to deny the hosts.
A major part of the game happened on the midfield in the second half with an occasional unsuccessful attempt to score on either sides from both the teams.
The Lancers still did not lose hope and kept pressing hard, until they finally scored their and Turner’s second field goal of the day in the 56th minute.
With this win, the Lancers have 22 points in their kitty and now lead the points table with four wins and two losses from six games.
The Waveriders are languishing at the fifth spot with 17 points from seven games.
Kalinga Lancers will next host Jaypee Punjab Warriors on Sunday, while the Waveriders will play Dabang Mumbai in New Delhi on February 9.
PTI