Kalinga Lancers beat SG Pipers 6-1 to continue to lead HIL men's league

Bhubaneshwar, Jan 17 (PTI) Table-toppers Vedanta Kalinga Lancers opened the Bhubaneshwar leg of the men's Hockey India League (HIL) with a commanding 6-1 victory over SG Pipers here on Saturday.

The Lancers extended their winning streak to five matches.

Boby Singh Dhami was named player of the match for a brilliant play-making performance that kept the Pipers' defence on the back foot all evening.

Cooper Burns (8th, 23rd minutes) and Alexander Hendrickx (39th, 56th) scored twice each, while Craig Marais (10th) and Angad Singh (54th) added one goal apiece to complete the rout.

KY Williot scored the solitary goal for the Pipers.

In the first match of the day, Hyderabad Toofans registered a dominating 6-0 win over Shrachi Bengal Tigers. Zachary Wallace (2nd, 17th, 30th minutes) and Tim Brand (12th, 39th, 46th) scored a hat-trick each for Hyderabad Toofans.

Hyderabad Toofans opened the scoring in the second minute of the first quarter itself as Talwinder Singh did well to hold and protect the ball inside the circle and passed it on to Wallace who finished the chance with ease.

In the seventh minute, Sukhjeet Singh won a penalty corner for Shrachi Bengal Tigers but Tom Grambusch's drag-flick went inches away from the goal. The very next minute, the Tigers won another penalty corner and this time, Grambusch's attempt was saved by Hyderabad Toofans goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg.

In the 12th minute, Hyderabad Toofans won their first penalty corner of the evening and although Amandeep Lakra's drag-flick was saved initially by the Tigers, Brand was quick to react on the rebound and slotted the ball into the net to extend the lead.

Hyderabad Toofans continued their scoring streak in the second quarter as Wallace was given too much time and space in the 16th minute. He dribbled down the middle into the circle and unleashed a low-driven shot, to sneak the ball past the goalkeeper and into the bottom-right corner of the goal.

In the 19th minute, Abhishek created a good opportunity for Shrachi Bengal Tigers as he took a strong shot on goal but it was stopped by Hyderabad Toofans' goalkeeper Bikramjit Singh.

Moments later, the Tigers came close again as Ketan Kushwaha played a strong pass into the circle from the left flank but Abhishek's deflection towards goal went narrowly wide off-target.

With 20 seconds left in the first half, Hyderabad Toofans found another goal, this time Wallace dribbled from the right flank and struck the ball towards goal, and it took a deflection and went over the Tigers' goalkeeper.

The third quarter started off with a tight contest between the two sides. However, it didn't take long for Hyderabad Toofans to score their fifth goal.

In the 39th minute, Arshdeep Singh showed incredible 3D skills along the baseline as he beat multiple defenders and played it in the centre of the circle for Brand, who slotted the ball into the goalpost with ease.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Hyderabad Toofans scored their sixth goal, courtesy of Brand again as he completed his hat-trick.

Jacob Anderson took the initial shot on goal and although it was saved by the Tigers' goalkeeper, Brand pounced on the rebound again and finished the ball into the net. PTI SSC SSC PDS PDS