Falling flat at the first hurdle

Greenshirts lose Champions Trophy opener, to take on Spain today.

KARACHI:

Pakistan failed to hold on to their early lead and suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Great Britain in their Champions Trophy opener yesterday.

The loss against arguably their weakest opponents in the group puts their hopes of progressing in doubts after world champions Australia began their title-defence in style by beating Spain 3-2 in the event opener.

Pakistan had a confident start to the match when captain Mohammad Imran converted a penalty-corner in the 31st minute. Wasted chances, however, came back to haunt the Greenshirts and emphasis on defending the lead led to Pakistan's downfall.

Mark Pearn and Richard Mantell helped Great Britain come back into the match before sealing the result.

"Winning and losing is part of the game and it's not the end yet," team manager Khwaja Junaid told The Express Tribune. "We're a strong side and have the potential to beat any team. This is a step towards our preparations for the Olympics and it will be our mistakes that teach us and help overcome our faults."

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief selector Hanif Khan, however, said that the defenders and the forwards disappointed him.

"Pakistan will need to work on their finishing in the other two matches," said Khan. "The forwards wasted too many opportunities in the first half and the team management should've directed them to work on that in the second half. But despite the result, I'm still optimistic about our chances."

Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh predicted a rough road for Pakistan in the days to come and rued the fact that the team scored just once.

"We lost the most precious three points here and that too against the weakest side in the group," said Sheikh. "It's the flaw in their strategy: the team is relying on three forwards instead of five and that puts a lot of pressure on the defenders. You can't rely on defending a one-goal lead and expect to take full points.

"Besides, we really don't have any outstanding player in the team right now."

Pakistan will take on Spain today with the team eyeing nothing less than a convincing win.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2011.