PIA and WAPDA will vie to lift the coveted trophy

Lahore: Country’s two top teams PIA and WAPDA will vie to lift the coveted trophy in the ongoing 9^thNishan-e-Haider Hockey Tournament at the Muttihullah Astroturf Hockey Stadium. The flood light final will start at 8.30 pm and Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee and Sports Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada will grace the occasion as the chief guest.

Earlier, the first semifinal between two traditional rivals PIA and NBP provided real entertainment to the large crowd gathered at the Stadium. Olympians and internationals in both teams exhibited their artistry amid their aggressive moves and stick work which amused the spectators who cheered whenever the forwards sprinted between two halves to launch an attack. Seasoned Akhtar Ali, however, stole the show in the 15^thminute scoring a beautiful field goal for the NBP. PIA got a fair chance to equal the score in the 34^thminute when their forward got a pass in the D but the goalkeeper frustrated his attempt. The Bankers maintained their supremacy till the end of the first half.

After toiling hard in the middle the PIA got a penalty corner in the 48^th minute of the match which was successfully converted by Shafqat Rasool to level the score. The semifinal entered in a very exciting stage after the score levelled at 1-1 and both teams demonstrated glimpses of their hostility also but generally they maintained the sportsman spirit. NBP missed a chance to gain lead in the 53^rdminute when their forward Tousiq Arshad intercepted a PIA cross near the D and passed it to Atiq who couldn’t beat the goalkeeper. The Bankers got a penalty corner in the 64^th minute through the sole efforts of Akhtar but Tousiq’s dragging was easily stopped by the keeper. PIA, however, didn’t miss the chance which came in their way in the 66^th minute and full back Ahsanullah scored a goal on penalty corner. Kamran Shafi and Atif Malik supervised the match.

The second semifinal between WAPDA and Army (Red) thrilled the crowd in the first half but they didn’t applaud Army’s defensive approach after scoring two goals. WAPDA took full advantage and successfully found gaps to move and attack on their opponents. Olympian Waseem Ahmed spearheaded most of the attacks and played a significant role in his team’s victory. Starting the match at a fast pace Army took lead in the 8^thminute when Safeer and Shahid Ali made a smart move and reached into the D where Habib-ur-Rahman got the pass and scored a beautiful field goal. Five minutes later Safeer again led an attack and gave a pass to Mohammed Kashif whose cross was neatly deflected by Mohammed Zafar Dar into the goal post to earn 2-0 lead. Army defended their citadel effectively for a considerable time and frustrated WAPDA’s attacks. In the 32^nd minute WAPDA’s forwards Mohammed Salman and Asad Bashir launched a productive attack and obtained a penalty corner which was successfully converted by Zubair Riaz.

In the second half Waseem’s tactics worked who took control of the ball and reached into the D after dodging defenders where he gave pass to Mohammed Usman who did not hesitate to accept the opportunity and scored the second goal for WAPDA in the 46^thminute. Realizing the failure of his defensive strategy Army’ captain Imran left his original full back position and led an attack from the front. It worked for a while as he succeeded to convert a penalty strokes to earn a 3-2 lead over WAPDA. But this lead was short-lived. WAPDA’s forwards found gaps and scored three more goals to win the match. Umar Bhutta scored a field goal in the 59^thmin, Zubair Riaz converted a penalty corner in the 65^th minute and Ijaz scored a field goal in the 67^th minute. Haider Rasool and Munawar Hassan were he umpires.

Results of the two semifinals of Ninth Nishan-e-Haider Hockey Tournament at the Mutiullah Astroturf Hockey Stadium Bahawalpur.

 

First Semifinal

PIA                              Beat                 NBP

  2                                                           1                   (Full Time)

  0                                                           1                   (Half Time)

 

PIA: Shafqat Rasool 48^th min (PC), Ahsanullah 66^thmin (PC).

NBP: Akhtar Ali 15^th min (FG).

 

Second Semifinal

WAPDA                       Beat                 Army (Red)

     5                                                           3                (Full Time)

     1                                                           2                (Half Time)

 

WAPDA: Zubair Riaz 32^nd & 65^thmin (PC), Mohammed Usman 46^thmin (FG), Umar Bhutta 59^th min (FG), Ijaz 67^th min (FG).

Army (Red): Habib-ur-Rahman 8^th (FG), Mohammed Zafar Dar 16^thmin (FG), Mohammed Imran 55^th min (PS).