Hockey: Pakistan thrashed 3-1 in tri-series opener

Greenshirts to face India today after loss against Australia.

KARACHI: Pakistan paid for a slow second-half to lose their tri-series opener 3-1 against world champions Australia in Busselton.

The Asian Games gold medallists started off impressively and denied the hosts scoring opportunities seen aplenty in their 8-1 demolition of India a day earlier. Australia did manage a slim 1-0 lead by the interval but captain Shakeel Abbasi converted a penalty stroke minutes after the resumption to level the score.

After conceding the goal, Australia made repeated attacks to regain lead and, as Pakistan lost rhythm, the world champions scored twice to come out easy winners. Pakistan team manager Khwaja Junaid, however, remained satisfied with the result.

“Our performance was excellent,” Junaid told The Express Tribune. “They are the top-ranked side in the world and are invincible at home. We were neck-and-neck against them before the two late goals.”

The Olympian also praised Pakistan’s defence despite the score-line.

“Our defenders are showing improvement. The Aussies’ attack is very strong which was on show against India who we face today. We are very confident for the match. We beat them in our last outing in the nine-a-side event. We have shown better performance as compared to them on the tour so we’re hopeful of continuing our winning run against them.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2011.