Lancers slice past Mumbai

Bhubaneswar, Kalinga Lancers beat Dabang Mumbai 4-2 to register their first victory in the Hockey India League (HIL) here today. German striker Florian Fuchs’ field goal handed Mumbai a 2-0 advantage but two field strikes from Kalinga’s Adam Dixon and Glenn Turner sealed the deal for the hosts.
To begin with, both the teams played defensively, not willing to give any room to the other. Already under pressure following the last-minute defeat in the inaugural match, the hosts tried to stick to their gameplan even as Mumbai enjoyed a greater ball possession in the first quarter. The first quarter, though, remained goalless as both the goalkeepers pulled off some good saves.
In the second quarter, Kalinga stepped up the pace a little bit and made some good moves. The Mumbai goalkeeper, David Harte of Ireland, however, thwarted all their attempts. The Mumbai strikers, too, made some attempts but failed to beat the rival goalkeeper.
In the 35th minute, in the third quarter, Fuchs scored a field goal for Mumbai. It was an opportunistic strike — the goalkeeper failed to clear the ball and Fuchs made full use of the loose ball. A few minutes later, the visitors earned a penalty corner, but the Kalinga goalkeeper padded away Harmanpreet Singh’s flick.
Towards the end of the quarter, the hosts made a strong comeback when Englishman Dixon deflected the ball home to level the score. With their confidence up after getting the equaliser, Kalinga pressed hard for a winner. They got it early on in the fourth quarter when seasoned Australian striker Turner found the back of the net after receiving a pass from his captain Moritz Furste.
Mumbai did their best to catch up but the hosts didn’t buckle under pressure and held on to the lead till the end.