Rourkela, 10.01.2025: Vedanta Kalinga Lancers beat Team Gonasika 2-1 in an exciting match at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium on Thursday. This was their second win in a row in the Hockey India League, moving them to third place. The Lancers attacked early, but Gonasika’s strong defense stopped them from scoring in the first quarter.
Gonasika scored first late in the first quarter. Lee Morton passed the ball, and S.V. Sunil tapped it into the goal, making the home crowd quiet. In the second quarter, the Lancers thought they had scored when Nicholas Bandurak found the net, but the umpire canceled the goal for dangerous play.
The Lancers finally equalized just before halftime. With Gonasika down to 10 players after Manpreet Singh got a green card, Antoine Kina took advantage of a defensive mistake and scored. In the third quarter, Aran Zalewski scored the winning goal after a pass from Alexander Hendrickx. Gonasika was again down a player due to Araijeet Singh Hundal’s suspension.
In the final quarter, the Lancers created more chances but couldn’t score again. Dilpreet Singh made a diving attempt to connect with a cross but missed. Despite the missed chances, the Lancers held their lead and won the match.
