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Pakistan hammer Kiwis in Azlan Shah Hockey Cup
Ipoh (Malaysia)—Pakistan made a great impact in the
17th Edition of the Azlan Shah Cup when they trashed New Zealand 6-3
in Ipoh yesterday.
And the toast of the day was Rehan Butt, who scored four goals, and
placed his team as the early favourites to lay their hands on the
Trophy.
Pakistan were in a mean mood, and had New Zealand in a firm grip
even though they were down 0-1 by the sixth minute.
New Zealand skipper Phillip Burrows’ reverse stick attempt was like
a training show, but Pakistan goalkeeper Salman Akbar failed the
stop the floating attempt.
But that was as far as the Kiwis went, as Pakistan raised their
tempo to mesmerising heights, and nailed the equaliser in the 11th
minute, when Rehan Butt connected a cross from Muhammad Saqlain.
And New Zealand were further punished three minutes later, when
Shakeel Abbassi scored after receiving a pass from Rehan Butt.
New Zealand were back-paddling after that, and Pakistan sent them
deeper into the abyss in the 28th minute, and this time, Saqlain got
his name on the scoreboard when he scored their third.
New Zealand looked like they were in for a trashing, as a brilliant
field goal from Rehan Butt in the 30th minute made it 4-1.
But the Black Sticks were made of sturdier stuff, as they narrowed
the score with a penalty corner goal from Hayden Shaw in the 33rd
minute.
Hayden was again the point-man for the Kiwis, after emerging from
the dressing room. He scored his penalty corner brace in the 47th
minute, and now the match was almost an open affair as the score
stood at 4-3.
But Rehan Butt had other plans, as he scored his hat-trick off a
goalmouth melee in the 60th minute, and made it harder for the Kiwis
to draw or snatch a victory. And just as regulation time came to an
end, Rehan Butt scored his fourth and the Kiwis were trashed 6-3.
In the first match of the day, Canada made an impressive start in
the Azlan Shah Cup, when they beat Belgium 1-0 in a bruising match.
Both the teams have qualified for the Beijing Olympics, as Canada
beat Argentina in the Pan-American Games while Belgium defied the
odds to beat world No 1 Germany in the European Championships bronze
medal fight.
The Canadian goal was scored by Matthew Guest in the 50th minute,
off a field attempt, and they did enough to hold onto the slim lead
for the remainder of the match for three points.
As for Belgium, it was their second defeat, as they lost 2-1 to
Argentina on Thursday.—Agencies
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