WAPDA, PIA and NBP move ahead in All Pakistan NBP Hockey Tournament

Lahore: WAPDA, PIA and NBP have registered victories on the third day of the ongoing All Pakistan NBP Hockey Tournament at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. WAPDA beat HEC 1-0, PIA defeated Railways 1-0 and the match between NBP and PAF was decided on the penalty shootouts which the bankers won by 4-2.

The last match between NBP and PAF turned out to be a thrilling contest, particularly in the last quart when both the teams were placed at the even score of one goal each. They struggled hard to outclass each other but the match entered into the penalty shootout stage where Bilal, Kashif and Sabtain scored for the bankers while Shahbaz scored for the PAF.

Earlier after playing draw in the first two quarts, the NBP took lead to score the first goal in the 32^ndminute through Amir who neatly deflected a pass into the net. PAF came back hard in the last quart and levelled the score through their captain Saeed Shah who received a pass from Abdul Khaliq in the 51^st minute. After levelling the score both teams made exhibited aggressive stickwork and launched a number of attacks and counter attacks during the proceedings the ball kept on moving between the two halves. NBP’s Sabtain and Captain Akhtar Ali made a smart move in the dying moments of the last quart but Ayyub failed to deflect the ball into the goalpost. PAF goalkeeper deserved applaud as he bravely stopped chest high hits from the airmen. Kamran Hussain and Munir Ahmed supervised the match.

Top ranked WAPDA faced tough resistance from HEC in the opening match of the day. HEC defenders guarded their fort well and effectively checked WAPDA’s attacks. WAPDA failed to convert any of the six penalty corners they got in the match. The solitary goal was struck by Mohammed Usman in the 37^th minute. Kamran Shafi and Mohammed Asghar supervised the match.

Star studded PIA also toiled hard to beat Railways in the second match of the day which also ended at the identical score of 1-0 in favour of airliners. Railways demonstrated remarkable team spirit against their much superior opponents. Their defenders effectively tackled PIA’s forwards who made a number of inroads in their halves while their forwards also demonstrated excellent stickwork and made some good moves to enter into the PIA’s D  but luck didn’t favour them. PIA also made frequent moves into the ranks of Railways but most of their direct hits went outside. In the 54^th minute PIA’s Mohammed Zubair got a pass in the D and neatly netted the ball into the goalpost. PIA failed to convert any of the four penalty corners they got in the match. Hamza and Moheyuddin were the field umpires. Sunday is the rest day.