NBP, PIA to clash in Quaid Cup decider

Teams down Railways, Customs respectively in semi-finals.

KARACHI: Familiar rivals NBP and PIA will be seen in action against each other in the final of the 5th Customs Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup Hockey Tournament as they defeated their respective opponents in the semi-finals on Thursday.

NBP defeated Railways 5-2, with man-of-the-match Muhammad Tousiq Arshad scoring two penalty-corner goals in the 18th and 23rd minutes.

Tariq Aziz scored the first goal for NBP in the 12th minute, while Arslan Qadir struck a field goal in the 48th and Kashif Shah converted a penalty corner in the 53rd. Railways’ Muhammad Owais was his side’s only scorer, with two goals.

Tousiq, who was injured during the match, is optimistic about performing well in the final. “I was hit on the knee but will play and give my hundred per cent in the final on Friday,” he said. “Although PIA are a good team, we have seven international players which will  hopefully help us win the title.”

In the other match, PIA defeated Customs 5-1 as they scored five goals in the last 20 minutes of the game. PIA’s Azfar Yaqoob started off the scoring with a 41st-minute goal, after which Inayatullah found the back of the net in the 43rd minute, followed by Waseem Akram’s 45th-minute goal.

Nohaiz Malik and Yaqoob then struck in the 46th and 58th minute to complete PIA’s scoreline, while Muhammad Naveed had scored a lone goal for Customs in the 11th minute.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2015.

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