SSGC beat Army, PIA hold NBP in National Hockey

KARACHI: Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) edged Army 1-0 on the second day of Super League of National Hockey Championships at National Hockey Stadium, Lahore, on Thursday.

The match between PIA and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) ended in a 3-3 draw.

SSGC, boasting a few senior and many junior internationals, were the favourites but Army, with Pakistan’s ace forward Rizwan Sr and former national captain M Imran, fought well all the way. 

Both teams made repeated raids. If SSGC were the only side to earn penalty corners (four of them) in the first half, Army had three good field attempts on the goal — one of them came off the pole.

No team was able to score a goal in the first 30 minutes.

In the third quarter, SSGC had the better of the exchanges, especially in the first seven minutes when they camped in Army’s 23 metre area.

Adeel Latif, who made repeated penetrations into the circle, missed a good chance.

Persistence paid as SSGC went ahead in the 34th minute, off their fifth PC. Abbas Haider scored with a low angular push.

The soldiers toiled hard for the equaliser in the last 15 minutes. They had at least a couple of good open play chances apart from two penalty corners. M Imran, scorer of 99 international goals, failed to convert either.

Army even substituted their goalkeeper for an outfield player in the 58th minute but the goal eluded them.

In the second match of the day an exciting contest was anticipated between the two top contenders and it lived up to the expectations.

PIA, with a number of former and current internationals, were up against NBP, boasting eight members of Pakistan’s under-21 squad.

Thrice did NBP go ahead and each time the airliners came back.

PIA even came close to a memorable win in the last minute. First Shafqat’s attempt was superbly saved by NBP’s net minder Mazhar Abbas and on the rebound, PIA and Pakistan captain Irfan Sr shot it above the bar with the goal at his mercy.

The match began with the bankers having the better of the exchanges. The youngsters earned the first penalty corner in the 11th minute. Abu Bakr, who made a hat trick in an earlier game, found the net with a push left of the goalkeeper Imran Butt. 

In the last minute of the first quarter, experienced Shafqat Rasool sent a superb long ball into the circle. Haseem got the ball into the NBP net with a first time hit.

In the next quarter also, the ball mostly remained in the PIA circle though they had the only PC of the period. The best opportunity fell to NBP’s Bilal Qadir who missed from a close range. NBP again went ahead in the 36th minute. A swift move was initiated from their own half by Ammad Butt. In the circle, Azfar Yaqoob’s parallel pass meant for a teammate was deflected in the goal by a PIA defender. Again PIA equalised in the last minute of the quarter. Yasir Islam’s excellent pass from NBP’s 23 metre line was well received by Zubair on the left side of the circle, who made it 2-2 with a fantastic reverse hander into the far post. 

PIA, employing all their experience, made several forays into the bankers’ territory in the first seven minutes of the last quarter. First, Haseem wasted an easy opportunity and then a PC was wasted. In the 54th minute, they themselves conceded a PC for a rash foul. Abu Bakr again put NBP ahead with a missile of a flicker in the 54th minute. The resilient PIA came back once again. A good sortie saw the ball in the NBP circle for some time before Zubair, with his second of the evening, equalised for the third time. The score stayed 3-3 despite the last minute drama.