26 January 2004	Monday	03 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Jan 25: Inspired by two-goal Yasir Islam, PTCL retained their Under-20 national hockey championship title after a 4-2 victory over a battling Pakistan Army on Saturday.

Yasir, a high-stepping Habib Bank forward playing for PTCL without transfer, first poached an equaliser in the first half and sounded the backboards for his second after resumption at Hockey Club of Pakistan.

PTCL, who were bolstered having Tariq Aziz back after one- match suspension, were taken aback when Army ambushed them in the third minute of the game which saw Mohammad Arshad rifling home past PTCL goalkeeper Mohammad Iqbal.

Shakeel Abbasi, a Pakistan senior side centre-forward, threatened Army defences when he tricked his way past two defenders before feeding Mohammad Arif who was well intercepted in the 11th minute.

Army defended stoutly as goalkeeper Mohammad Rizwan padded away a full-blooded Arif hit from the top of the circle before Yasir put the ball into the net but umpire Zulfiqar Hussain whistled for a foul in the 14th minute.

A neat one-two in the 18th minute between Tariq and Yasir finally put the game on an even keel, Yasir slotting home his first to equalise 1-1. The goal gave PTCL command and a fresh lease of life as Shakeel, Yasir and Arif ran Army defences into dizzy disarray with their constant weaving runs that produced goal number two.

Shakeel, surprisingly playing for PTCL junior team who could never have himself inducted into national junior side, back passed through a reverse flick, giving Akhtar Ali ample opportunity to bang home in the 27th minute.

As PTCL showed teeth-gritting fight in the last 10 minutes of the first session, they knocked all the fight out of battling soldiers and then dominated the second half with ferocious firepower.

Armymen showed their determination when they bounced back to draw level one minute into second period, again through Arshad whose blistering hit from the top of the semi-circle gave Iqbal, declared the best goalkeeper of the tournament, no chance.

Undaunted, PTCL continued their goal quest by pushing Army back under an avalanche of attacks which pinned the soldiers into their own half. Intense pressure by PTCL was evident from five short corners within space of ten minutes they got, while in all they forced nine penalty corners.

The most discouraging factor for Army was their penalty corner striker Mohammad Imran, named the player of the tournament, who could not do much today despite getting four penalty corners.

Yasir, the player of the match, conjured up his second through a reverse hit off a penalty corner in the 53rd minute, as Army were rocking and rolling under the series of attacks.

Arif, who was working hard, finally got into the scoring act after having been set up by Akhtar seconds before the final hooter which sealed the fate of the match.

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) got some consolation after finishing third with a 4-2 triumph against Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) in third place playoff.

KESC, with four "guest players" playing without transfer from HBL, took a confident start with an Adeel Hussain goal in the fifth minute which was equalised by NBP's Sultan Ashraf in the 41st minute.

Mudassir Abbas was on target for KESC in the 50th minute, while Naeem Akbar drew level four minutes later. Imran Warsi, the highest scorer of the tournament with 13 goals including two hat tricks, put NBP ahead with a 59th-minute goal and Ammar Ishrat completed the rout a minute before the end. Meanwhile, Punjab Colours were awarded the fair play trophy.