Hockey India League: Kalinga Lancers register second consecutive win by defeating Team Gonasika

Kalinga Lancers climbed to third in the Hockey India League points table with a 2-1 win over Team Gonasika.

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

In their last two matches, the Kalinga Lancers took the lead in the first five minutes via Thierry Brinkman. That was not to be today as Gonasika controlled possession and got the first decent chance of the match. However, SV Sunil was unable to keep this opportunity away from a promising position.

Lancers won the first penalty corner after a good run by Gursahibjit Singh. Alexander Hendricks’ drag flick flew wide of the goal.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 14th minute when SV Sunil scored his second tournament goal. From the free hit the ball was given to Jack Waller who sent it into the goal. Sunil was in the right place to sweep the ball past Krishna Bahadur Pathak into the goal.

In the 21st minute, Araijeet Singh Hundal was close to doubling his team’s lead. Waller made a pass to Hundal from inside his half near the circle. The Indian forward took a touch and sent his shot wide of the goal.

Kalinga Lancers register their second consecutive win of Hockey India League 2025 by defeating Team Gonasika 🙌🏑#Hockey #HockeyIndiaLeague #KalingaLancers #TeamGonasikaVizag #HIL #HIL2024 pic.twitter.com/74FD7UZjHC

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) January 9, 2025

The Lancers thought they had 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 in 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.

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.

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.

The Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers will play the Tamil Nadu Dragons on January 10 at 8:15 PM IST.

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