Rourkela (Odisha) [India], January 3 : Vedanta Kalinga Lancers will continue playing "creative and offensive hockey" when they take on Tamil Nadu Dragons in their second outing of the Hockey India League at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Friday.
Spaniard Enrique Gonzalez scored in the opening quarter and the Lancers held the lead until the 45th minute in their exciting opener against UP Rudras on Monday but failed to drive home the advantage in an exciting finish.
"Very creative and offensive hockey. That was great to watch for me as a coach and also for all the people in the stands. So, we continue doing that, playing with a lot of heart, playing to score. So, I was really happy with our performance with the ball," German coach Valentin Altenburg said.
Trailing 1-2 going into the final minutes, Kalinga Lancers, in a bold move, substituted goalkeeper and stand-in captain Krishan Pathak for an extra field player to create opportunities for an equalizer and nearly secured it.
"Well, in that situation, because we were 1-2 down and we had lost the momentum that we had before, I had a feeling that taking him out and having an additional field player would make us even more dangerous towards their circle and also get the momentum back, which also worked," the coach said.
"We had two chances within the four minutes that we created. And since time was running away, I wanted to risk everything because we had enough chances during the game and good opportunities also when we took Krishan out to come back. And I wanted us to be in the shootout at least," the German continued.
"So, that's why I did it. And, yeah, it would have been a different situation when we were leading. And so, let's see what the game tomorrow will bring. But since we have very good ball control on the pitch, I wouldn't be surprised if we take Krishan out again if necessary," he concluded.
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