Pakistan edge Canada 5-4 to stay on course for final

LET’S READ SUARA SARAWAK/ NEW SARAWAK TRIBUNE E-PAPER FOR FREE AS EARLY AS 2 AM EVERY DAY. CLICK LINK

IPOH: Three-time champions, Pakistan is on course for the 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (SASC) final, after bouncing back from a two-goal deficit to edge bottom-placed Canada 5-4 at the Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium here, yesterday.

Pakistan, the world number 15, who beat Malaysia 5-4 and South Korea 4-0, before a 1-1 draw with Japan, was expected to hammer the Canadians.

However, (Canada) the world number 19, yet to secure a win, stunned Pakistan with goals from Sean Davis in the fifth minute while Harbir Sindhu struck in the 17th minute.

Pakistan under the tutelage of Roelant Oltmans, managed to claw back with Abu Mahmood netting two penalty corners in the 28th and 29th minutes, besides goals from Arshad Liagat in the 36th, Rana Waheed Ashraf (44th min) and Ghazanfar Ali (45th) to take the lead, while Canada tried to fight back via Davis’ 45th minute field goal and Avjot Buttar’s 50th minute goal.

The unbeaten Green Shirts have now accumulated 10 points, before facing highest ranked, New Zealand in the last round robin match tomorrow.

“Canada played well and made it hard for us, but we managed to bounce back to collect the three points. We felt pressured because we couldn’t convert the chances, we had 11 penalty corners but only scored two,” Oltmans said in the post-match press conference.

Meanwhile, Canada head coach Patrick Tshutshani said, his boys played their best ever game in the tournament, after having been hammered 7-1 by New Zealand and 6-2 by Malaysia, before escaping with 0-1 defeat to South Korea.

“Yes, this is our best performance after some tough conversations in the team meeting about what we want to produce. This is a young team, but the players stepped up without fear,” he said.

And, two-time champion New Zealand defeated South Korea 4-1 to keep their hopes alive for a top four finish.

However, before the victory, the Kiwis had to wait for over an hour due to a heavy thunderstorm, which delayed the match just after one minute and 15 seconds of play.

Back after the long wait, the world number 10 New Zealand scored through George Baker in the fourth minute, Jonty Elmes (18th min), Smith Jake (23rd min) and Isaac Houlbrooke (53rd min), while the Koreans replied through Sim Jaewon in the 39th minute.

After four matches, New Zealand now have six points, while South Korea are likely to miss the top four finish after winning only one match.

Friday’s (May 10) schedule: