Champions Trophy: Pakistan beat Belgium 2-0 to open account

Haseem, Rasool score to give Greenshirts their first win of the tournament.

KARACHI:

Pakistan made amends for Saturday’s disappointing 3-1 loss to the Netherlands by overcoming Belgium 2-0 in their second Pool B game of the Champions Trophy in Melbourne yesterday.

The result leaves the Belgians as the only winless team in Pool B while Pakistan still have a chance to finish on top of the pool.

The Greenshirts adopted an aggressive approach right from the start and were finally rewarded 15 minutes before the final hooter when Abdul Haseem Khan smashed a clinical hit to break the deadlock. Shafqat Rasool then struck in the last minute of the match to seal the win.

Pakistan coach Akhtar Rasool was happy with his side’s first win in the tournament.

“The players are playing better hockey,” said Rasool. “But we need more improvement in the matches coming ahead.”

Seasoned striker Shakeel Abbasi felt Pakistan showed improvement from their first game against the Netherlands.

“We were good against the Netherlands but missed many chances,” said the former captain. “We also missed chances against Belgium but managed to score also. This win is a boost for us, especially for our young players.”

Pakistan impressive so
far: Samiullah 

Meanwhile, Olympian Samiullah Khan said that he was impressed with the start of the team’s campaign in the tough tournament.

“Pakistan played well in both the matches,” Samiullah told The Express Tribune. “They did well against the Netherlands and also looked impressive during their first win.”

However, the legendary player said the team still needed a lot of improvement in the matches to come.

“Our strength is still below par. We are missing too many chances plus our defense also needs to tighten up, especially in goal-keeping. Our next game is against Australia who have a very good track record against us. We need to be cautious against them and will have to go with a calculated strategy.”

Pakistan will play their last group match against Australia tomorrow.

India, GB register wins

Meanwhile, India took top position in pool A after an impressive 4-2 triumph over New Zealand in their second game.

In another match, Great Britain (GB) stunned Germany 4-1 to bounce back following the loss against India. It was GB’s first win against the Germans in the history of the tournament. Elsewhere, in pool B, Australia and the Netherlands played out a stalemate.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2012.