HIL: Five-star Hyderabad trounce Kalinga Lancersq

Hyderabad Toofans registered a commanding 5-1 win over Vedanta Kalinga Lancers to move to the second spot in the men's Hockey India League, in Rourkela, on Sunday.

Gonzalo Peillat scored a brace, while Maico Casella, Tim Brand and Arshdeep Singh slotted a goal each for the Toofans. Alexander Hendrickx was the lone goal scorer for the Lancers.

Kalinga Lancers got off to a dream start as they opened the scoring in the fifth minute. The goal came via a textbook display of a penalty corner conversion as the injection came in perfectly for Hendrickx, who drilled his effort into the goal with a thunderous strike.

However, their joy was short-lived as the Toofans

struck back within a minute as seasoned Peillat rifled his attempt past goalkeeper Krishan Pathak.

The Toofans took the lead in astounding fashion in the 21st minute when Casella scored one of the top contenders for the goal of the tournament.

Zachary Wallace played a lovely diagonal aerial pass for Casella on the right flank and the Argentine fired a mindblowing shot on the volley, from the tightest of angles, into the roof of the net.

The side from Hyderabad went on to score again in the final play of the second quarter as Argentine-born German national team player Peillat struck his second goal via yet another delightful drag-flick.

Tim Brand also got on the scoresheet as he found the back of the net in the 47th minute to give the Hyderabad Toofans a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Despite the massive lead, the Toofans didn't take their foot off the pedal and were rewarded with a fifth goal in the 54th minute.