Pakistan lose first match on Europe tour

KARACHI: Despite putting up a good fight, Pakistan went down to the Netherlands in a tense 3-2 finish.

After Netherlands took the lead, Rehan Butt equalised a few minutes later before Dutch made it 2-1 before the half-time whistle.

And although Mohammad Imran scored at the start of the second half to equalise once again, the Dutch managed to seal the win with a decider two minutes from the final whistle.

“We have lost only one match which shows we have improved a lot. It was a huge challenge for coach Michel van den Heuvel, who coached the Dutch team before Pakistan,” goal-keeper Salman Akbar told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2010.