Islamabad to face Quetta in Hockey 5 final today

Karachi: Six teams played their last league matches in the first OGDCL Hockey 5 Tournament at National Stadium in Lahore on Saturday.

Faisalabad Falcons defeated Islamabad Fighters 5-3, Quetta Warriors beat Lahore Lions 5-4, while Karachi Sharks crushed Peshawar Panthers 6-3.

Islamabad had already qualified for the final having won all the first four matches. For the second spot in the final, it was between Quetta and Faisalabad.

Quetta had the destiny in their own hands. A win meant a place in the final. For Faisalabad, they not only had to beat Islamabad but also needed Quetta to lose points against Lahore.

Faisalabad Falcons beat Islamabad Fighters 5-3.

In the first match of the day, Faisalabad began aggressively and their captain Dilber put them ahead as early as in the third minute with a flat reverse hit. It stayed 1-0 at the end of the first period.

Arslan Qadir made it 1-1 in the second period as Faisalabad created many chances but were thwarted by the net minder.

With two minutes to go in the period, Islamabad earned a 1 vs 1 Challenge, which was converted by international Ejaz with a strong high push. But before the hooter, the Faisalabad side was back on equal terms through Dilber.

In the third period, Faisalabad made it 4-2. Atiq Arshad found the target with a well-placed hit before Dilber completing his hat trick on a rebound.

With their unblemished record in danger, Islamabad pulled one back via Rizwan Ali who managed to put the ball in a narrow gap between goal keeper and the pole. In the very next minute, Abu Bakar made it 5-3.

Quetta were desperately looking for a win against Lahore.

In the 9th minute, Rizwan scored for Lahore with a strong high push. But very next minute, Aamir sent in a minus to Bilal Mahmood who easily made it 1-1. 

The second period saw Lahore surprise Quetta when Faizan Jonty sounded the board with a long range flat push. Lahore wasted a couple of more chances as Warriors fought back and in a wonderful spell of attacking hockey, scored three goals in as many minutes. Scorers were Kashif Javed, Umar Hamdi and Faisal Shah.

Rana Sohail robbed a defender deep in Quetta’s territory and passed it to Aamir who easily slotted in. At 4-3, it was game on. Both the sides attacked each other’s fortress. Usman Malik managed to put Lahore on equal terms with a high flick. With just four minutes to go, Quetta’s big chance was slipping away. Rizwan scored his team’s fifth goal through an unstoppable reverse slap shot. Lahore then searched for an equaliser but Quetta managed to keep the lead intact.

The third match was a tie between the two bottom placed sides. Karachi with one point and Peshawar with zero had no chance of qualifying for the third place play off.

Peshawar going ahead with Karachi equalising; the sequence was repeated thrice during the first two periods. Peshawar were again served well by Adeel Latif, who apart from scoring two goals, also created many moves.

It was 3-3 when the third period began. Both the sides had opportunities but Sharks found the target at regular intervals.

After a melee in the front of the goal, Zeeshan Bukhari managed to make the ball cross the goal line. Saran bin Qamar’s first attempt was blocked by the Peshawar goalkeeper but he put the rebound in with a good reverse flick. Sikander Mustafa scored Karachi’s sixth goal.       The two teams would face each other again in the 5th/6th position match.