SSGC, NBP, KP Whites and Army reach semis
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Whites and Pakistan Army advanced to the semi-finals of the 35th National Junior Hockey Championship
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Whites and Pakistan Army advanced to the semi-finals of the 35th National Junior Hockey Championship with contrasting last-eight victories on Tuesday.
While SSGC and Army scraped 2-1 past Wapda and Pakistan Railways respectively, NBP were rampant in a 9-1 thrashing of Pakistan Customs while KP Whites hammered Punjab Whites 5-0 here at the National Hockey Stadium.
Rana Sohail gave SSGC a fifth-minute lead, finishing off a fine team move, but Wapda levelled just four minutes later through Bilal Sohail.
Rana, though, scored the winner barely a minute later in an absorbing match which saw both teams waste good chances to add further to the scoreline.
Full-back Abubakar Mehmood was the star of the show for NBP, scoring through four penalty corners, as they crushed Customs.
His conversions came in the fifth, 17th, 20th and 25th minutes, adding to Mohammad Atiq’s 22nd-minute strike and Azfar’s goal in the 29th as NBP raced into a 6-0 lead after two quarters.
Mohammad Dilber then converted two penalty corners in quick succession with Mohammad Naveed completing NBP’s scoring in the 43rd, three minutes before Qazi Anser grabbed a consolation for Customs.
KP Whites captain Zahidullah fired them into a 12th-minute lead, converting a penalty corner before Khairullah and Amjad Ali scored in the space of four minutes — the first a field goal and the second a penalty corner conversion — to put them 3-0 up by the 26th minute against Punjab Whites.
Further field goals by Shahbaz (39th) and Khairullah (54th) completed the rout.
Railways, meanwhile, were unlucky against Army as an implosion in the third and fourth quarters saw them crash out.
Captain Awais-ur-Rehman put them ahead in the second quarter but Army hit back in the 42nd through a beautiful field goal by Noman Ali before Jahangir Ali struck the winner a minute from time.
