Lancers book HIL final date as Royals face Toofans for second shot

Bhubaneswar: Alexander Hendrickx put up another stellar show from penalty corners as Kalinga Lancers made it to the final of the second edition of the revamped Hockey India League after they beat Ranchi Royals 2-1 in the Qualifier 1 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.Hendrickx scored in the 12th and the 32nd minutes to put the Lancers in the drivers’ seat. Mandeep Singh pulled one back for the Royals in the 40th minute but it wasn’t enough. They, however, will get a second chance to make it to the final when they take on Hyderabad Toofans in the Qualifier 2 on Sunday.Earlier in the day, Toofans beat HIL GC 2-0 in the Eliminator with ease. Shilanand Lakra (16’, 39’) scored both the goals as the last edition’s runners-up went past Hardik Singh & Co with ease.

As for HIL GC, they had numerous chances to get back into the game but it just wasn’t their day and will now be playing the third-fourth playoff match next.Meanwhile, Royals began their game on a positive note with Mandeep getting a great chance to put them in the lead in the fourth minute when Araijeet Singh Hundal played the ball to him in front of the goal. Mandeep, however, failed to keep it in control and put the ball well over the target.

It was a costly miss as Lancers slowly took control of the game and grabbed their first PC of the match in the 12th minute. They failed to convert it and won a retake which Hendrickx eventually scored to put Lancers in the lead. The Belgian drag flicker slammed it towards the left of the goalkeeper and there was nothing that Suraj Karkera could do to keep it out.In the second quarter, Royals upped the tempo and grabbed as many as four PCs but Lancers’ PC defence was spot on and they were able to protect their 1-0 lead.After the change of ends, Lancers showed their class and doubled their lead with Hendrickx scoring his second of the match – also from a PC. This time he went straighter and Karkera should have done better to keep it out. But the ball hit the goalkeeper and ricocheted into the net.The Royals finally pulled one back with five minutes left in the third quarter when they won their fifth PC of the match. This time they went for variation as Sam Lance played it towards Mandeep and he deflected it into the net.They, however, couldn’t get the equaliser as Lancers took complete control of the game in the final quarter and booked their place in the final. After their disastrous performance in the last edition of the tournament, this has certainly been quite a show.