Greenshirts whitewash Black Sticks Men’s by 4-1 in a Test match in Amsterdam
Pakistan men’s national hockey team defeated New Zealand by 4-1 in a Test match played on Wednesday, July 6 in Amsterdam, the capital city of Netherlands.
It was a very important victory as the Greenshirts displayed a miserable performance in the recently-held Rabo Four-Nations tournament in Netherlands, where they played three matches in total, but remained victory-less in these three games. They lost two
of these three against Germany and the hosts, Netherland, while their third match ended in a draw against the English squad.
The coach and the manager of the national hockey team looked very pleased over the victory that will prove to be a morale-booster for the Greenshirts in their upcoming matches against Belgium and Netherlands.
“It was an impressive comeback especially after our recent loss. New Zealand is a good side and it’s an encouraging win. It will definitely boost our confidence.” Khawaja Junaid, the manager of Pakistan national hockey side, commented after the match.
“The important thing is that the team did not lose confidence after finishing last in the Four Nations tournament,” he further stated about the victory of the Greenshirts in this match after a disappointing performance in the recently-held Rabo Four-Nations
tournament in which the Greenshirts could not win a single game. He also stated that the victory was a result of a combined team effort.
The Greenshirts dominated the entire match from the start, where they scored two goals in each of the two halves.
The veteran mid-fielder, Shakeel Abbasi scored the opening goal of the match in the starting minutes of the first half and gave his team an early lead. He once again delivered his effort by scoring another beautiful field goal, but the double-lead lasted
for a few minutes, when the Kiwis reduced it just before the interval by 2-1.
In the second half, the Greenshirts remained at the top and the young striking forward, Haseem Khan once increased the lead to 3-1, which later on was further enhanced by the seasoned drag flick specialist, Sohail Abbas. The match concluded at 4-1 in favour
of Pakistan.
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