Pakistan Junior Hockey Team earns maiden victory in Sultan of Johor Cup
Just when it looked like Pakistan’s junior hockey team could not perform any worse, having lost their last four games straight, the junior Green-shirts bounced back and edged past Australia, breaking their losing streak in the ongoing Sultan of Johor Hockey
Tournament.
The cliff-hanging contest was played at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, in Johor Baru, Malaysia, on November 11.
The two teams were sitting on opposite poles before entering the field. Pakistan had lost all four games played thus far, while Australia had all four victories to its credit in the tournament.
The results of the match will not affect the position of the Australian team that has already booked a place in the finals of the tournament.
At the same time, the victory did nothing to change the position of the Pakistani team, as it will contest the fifth-sixth place playoff competition, on November 12.
In order to break their losing streak, the junior Green-shirts started the game at a frantic pace. The free flowing hockey helped the Pakistani team in creating a couple of short corners in the very early minutes of the game.
But the Pakistani drag flickers missed two back to back chances in the 2nd and 3rd minutes, respectively.
Despite missing the opportunities, the Pakistani attackers did not lose heart and continued their fast-paced game. Their determination paid off in the 8th minute mark when Muhammad Dilber marked the first goal of the day, placing Pakistan ahead
of Australia by 1-0.
The maiden goal boosted the morale of the Pakistani team while Australians failed to come out from their slumber.
With 14 minutes into the play, Pakistan received its third short corner of the day, increasing the tally up to two goals. Aleem Bilal converted the penalty corner with a classic shot into the corner of the net.
However, the lead did not last for long, as Australia decreased the difference by acquiring a goal at the hands of Damiel Beals, in the 20th minute mark.
Soon after two minutes, Dilber found a chance to regain a two-goal advantage, but to no avail. His shot was denied by one of the Australian defenders at the top of the circle.
With two minutes left in the first half, the Pakistani squad walked off from the field when Australia tied the knots at two-all, by a controversial goal. Tyler Cowley was the player who scored the tying goal.
However, the game resumed, and Pakistan broke the stalemate within a few seconds. Muhammad Suleman, with a fantastic deflection, sent the ball into the cage, increasing Pakistan’s lead to one goal, 3-2, at halftime.
The duo played an end-to-end game in the second set of play but failed to add any goals to their scores in the thirty-five minutes of play.
Pakistan won the match by 3-2, registering its first victory in the tournament. In the final phase, Pakistan will play a playoff game for the fifth and sixth places.
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