Punjab Warriors succeeded in stopping the dream run of Kalinga Lancers, winning 4-1 in a HIL tie that saw many twists and turns at Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.
It was disappointing for the holiday crowd to watch the home team go down but they witnessed rich hockey entwined with aggression and persistence.
Though Lancers drew the first blood in the second half through a penalty corner (Moritz Fuerste-Glenn Turner) it was a renewed Punjab Warriors which scored two field goals, one by Australian Simon Orchard and the other by Jasjit Singh in the final quarter.
Warriors got four back-to-back penalty corners but failed to convert as the Lancers defence and custodian Andrew Charter looked too good. In all, Warriors got five penalty corners but none was converted.
Pressing hard, Lancers dominated the first half but later the Sardar-led Warriors got their act together through some fine midfield excellence. An angling cross from a forward saw Simon Orchard skidding towards the box and tapping the ball in. Later Jasjit Singh swelled the lead to four by sending a rasping shot into the box away from the circle.
Both Warriors and Lancers have 22 points each after this match.
Excellent ball possessionLancers excelled in ball possession in the first quarter as Gurjinder Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Turner and Quirjin Caspers tried their best to score. The second quarter saw Turner pressing hard for the elusive goal and best part of the game was played close to the Warriors’ circle. A tackle involving Fuerste and Sardar didn’t materialise into a penalty corner for Warriors as the third umpire negated in the referral.
Warriors looked more focussed, accelerated the pace, and increased circle penetrations to prevent the host from making a comeback. Lancers too failed in penalty conversion when it mattered the most.
In the dying minutes of the game, Lancers tried to convert penalty corners into field goals but the efforts backfired.
Lancers will play defending champion Ranchi Rays on Monday here and a victory will take it to the semifinals.
Warriors will clash with Uttar Pradesh Wizards at Lucknow on February 10.
The result:
Punjab Warriors 4 (Simon Orchard 2 FG, Jasjit Singh 2 FG) bt Kalinga Lancers 1 (Glenn Turner PC).
