Sultan of Johor Cup: Pakistan junior side outplays England 6-2

Tousiq, Dilber shine as hockey team wins second consecutive match.

KARACHI: Mohammad Tousiq and Mohammad Dilber scored a brace each as Pakistan outclassed England 6-2 to register their second consecutive win in the Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

It was not easy for Pakistan in the beginning, as they had to face a deficit twice in the first half before proving their mettle over their English counterparts.

England got the lead in the fifth minute through Richard Gail, who stunned Pakistan’s defense with a move from the left. However, the greenshirts replied quickly and equalised with Mohammad Tousiq converting a tenth minute penalty-corner.

Pakistan then conceded another goal with Luke Taylor regaining the lead for England five minutes later. However, the team remained unperturbed and struck again on a penalty corner with Tousiq doing the job for the second time.

Dilber secured the lead for Pakistan in the dying moments of the first half, after deflecting the ball with accuracy on a reverse hit by Kashif Javed.

Pakistan went into full gear in the final session breaking England’s defense at regular intervals. Ayub Ali made it 4-2 scoring from close range while Mohammad Suleman extended the lead in the 62nd minute. Dilber completed the rout by scoring a minute before the final whistle as Pakistan walked away with three more points.

Manzoorul Hassan was ecstatic over the team’s fighting spirit.

“We are naturally happy with the win,” said the junior team’s head coach and manager. “It was a good show from the team despite conceding the lead twice. I was confident they would not come under pressure.”

Meanwhile, India edged out Argentina 3-2 after a hard-fought contest to claim their second successive win in the tournament.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2013.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.