Pakistan miss out on third place after loss to Australia

Junior hockey team fails to avail chance at Sultan Johor Cup.

KARACHI: Pakistan lost the opportunity of claiming bronze at the Sultan Johor Cup as they went down to Australia 3-2 yesterday at Johor Baru, Malaysia.

The colts put up a spiritless show in the first half of the match, giving rise to speculations that they were yet to recover from the 3-0 loss against Germany in their last pool game.

Australia exploited the situation and took a ninth -minute lead through Cassey Hammond who found a way past captain and goal-keeper Mazhar Abbas to beat.

Just two minutes later, Australia doubled their lead following a brilliant display from captain Dylan Wotherspoon, who beat Mazhar with an angled shot.

Pakistan, after failing to score on a 23rd minute penalty corner, recovered with a change in approach that saw repeated attacks in the final session.

Mohammad Irfan scored the first goal for Pakistan in the 49th minute following a field effort.

The colts charged up to find the equaliser and succeeded in extending the game to extra-time after Rizwan Ali made it 2-2, four minutes before conclusion of regulation time.

However, Pakistan failed to capitalise on their comeback, with Australia earning the right to stand on the podium with a goal from Jayshaan Randhawa, with two minutes remaining in the first half of the extra time.

Just one win for Pakistan in Johor Cup

Pakistan will return with just one win under their belt as they suffered three losses and drew two in six matches they played during the six-nation event.

They were held by New Zealand 3-3 in their opening game before Australia pummeled them 5-1 in the next match.

After a goalless draw against India, Pakistan secured their only win after overcoming defending champions and hosts Malaysia 2-0 before losing to Germany 3-0 in their last pool match.

Not many people will be surprised by the less-than-satisfactory performance of the national team, as manager and head coach Rana Mujahid had already stated that not much could be expected from the ‘inexperienced side’.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2012.