Railways, WAPDA and NBP won their matches

Lahore: Railways, WAPDA and NBP have won their matches on the third day of the 9^th Nishan-e-Haider Hockey Tournament at the Mutiullah Astroturf Hockey Stadium.

Railways beat Steel Mills 7-5, WAPDA beat Police 7-2 and NBP defeated Port Qasim 2-0. In the first match Steel Mills forwards started their game in an aggressive mood and stunned their rivals scoring two goals in the first seven minutes of the proceedings. Mohammed Rauf who did a hat-trick opened the account when he successfully converted a penalty corner in the 3^rd minute.

Four minutes later Yaseen Anwar scored a beautiful field goal to give his team a 2-0 lead. Railways maintained their supremacy for a considerable time which was reduced by Zeeshan Bukhari in the 23^rd minute through a field goal. Rauf’s 33^rdminute field goal ended the first half at 3-1 in Steel Mills’ favour. The second half was full of exciting drama in which the spectators enjoyed excellent sprints and stick work of the forwards of both teams.

Trailing by two goals Railways forwards fought hard in the second half. They demonstrated excellent coordination in short passes and made combined moves to force Steel Mills to adopt a defensive strategy which didn’t help them. Two goals each by Zeeshan Bukhari, Owais and Kamran Maqsood not only leveled the score but successfully led their team toward victory. Kamran Maqsood changed the fate of the match in Railways’ favour scoring two goals in 47^th& 48^th minutes respectively. Owais’s 50^th minute goal further strengthened Railways’ position. Zeeshan netted his second goal in the 58^th minute. From Steel Mills Rauf scored a field goal in the 43^rdminute to complete his hat-trick and Sultan Ashraf netted the ball on a penalty stroke. Atif Malik and Imran Ali supervised the match. Comprising of Olympians and internationals WAPDA faced little resistance to outclass Police in the second match. Two goals by Mohammed Usman on Penalty corner in the 8^th minute and a field goal by Jaffar Hussain in the 10^th minute put WAPDA in a strong position. However, a field beautiful goal in the 24^thminute by Saleem reduced the margin. Star studded WAPDA completely dominated the second session scoring a field goal in the 36^thminute through Jaffar. Zohaib Ashraf’s 40^th minute goal consolidated WAPDA’s position. Rana Umair scored fifth goal in the 53^rd minute. Zubair converted a penalty corner in the 59^thminute and Ejaz scored the seventh goal in the 63^rd minute. Asif Iqbal scored the second goal for Police in the 69^th minute. Kamran Sharif and Mubarik Ali were the umpires.

In the last match NBP worked hard to defeat Port Qasim. Comprising of Olympians and internationals NBP failed to score in the first half. However, they fought hard in the second half. Atique scored the first goal for NBP on a penalty corner in 39^thminute. While Arslan Qadir made a beautiful goal in the 62^ndminute. Haider Rasool and Rana Sajid supervised the match. Results of the matches played on the third day of Ninth Nishan-e-Haider Hockey Tournament at the Mutiullah Astroturf Hockey Stadium Bahawalpur.

  First Match:   Railways                   Beat                Steel Mills       7                                                            5              (Full Time)       3                                                            1              (Half Time)   Railways: Zeeshan Bukhari 23^rd & 58^th min (FG), Owais 38^th& 50^th min (FG), Khurram Shahzad 40^th min (FG), Kamran Maqsood 47^th & 48^th min (FG). Steel Mills: Mohammed Rauf 3^rdmin (PC), 33^rd & 43^rd (FG), Yaseen Anwar 7^thmin (FG), Sultan Ashraf 54^th min (PS).   Second Match:   WAPDA                      Beat                Police      7                                                           2                  (Full Time)      2                                                           1                  (Half Time)   WAPDA: Mohammed Usman 8^th min (PC), Jaffar Hussain 10^th & 36^th min (FG), Zohaib Ashraf 40th min (FG), Rana Umair 53^rdmin (FG), Zubair Riaz 59^th min (PC), Ejaz 63^rdmin (FG). Police: Saleem 24^th min (FG), Asif Iqbal 69^thmin (FG).   Third Match:   NBP                            Beat                Port Qasim   2                                                               0               (Full Time)   0                                                               0               (Half Time)