12 January 2005	Wednesday	01 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Jan 11: PTCL became the national hockey champions for the first time, dethroning Wapda with a battling 3-2 victory courtesy two stunning late Ghazanfar Ali penalty corner strikes at Hockey Club of Pakistan on Tuesday.

What seemed to be a sluggish game in the first half became a thriller after resumption when both sides battled for supremacy after remaining goalless in the first session. The match got off to lacklustre start as the two formidable sides having an array of current and former Pakistan players in their ranks kept operating in the midfield.

While PTCL's Saleem Khalid got a green card Wapda's Ghulam Murtaza did not get a card from umpire Mohsin Ali Khan after the two players exchanged hot words and jostled each other in the 25th minute.

Interestingly, the field jury stopped the game in the 26th minute after remaining oblivious that Wapda goalkeeper Amanullah was playing without any number on his shirt. The game resumed after the goalkeeper changed the shirt.

PTCL who had missed an opportunity in the 19th minute as Sajjad Anwar failed to stop the ball on first short corner, apparently because of uneven surface, came near scoring through Shakeel Abbasi two minutes before halftime only to be denied by Amanullah.

Unlike the first half, the second period saw lightning attacks and a display of slick hockey from both sides which resulted in five goals being scored within a span of 13 minutes.

Wapda were frustrated on their first short corner after resumption as Mohammad Ashraf effort was effectively blocked by a defender. Goal number one from Wapda in the 43rd minute opened the floodgates as a clinical strike by Zakirullah from the top of the circle gave PTCL goalkeeper Salman Akbar and the defenders no chance.

Rehan Butt, guilty of missing a penalty stroke against Pakistan Army in the semifinal, rattled PTCL just two minutes later when he rifled home with an angular hit to become competition's top-scorer with his 11th goal.

Two goals instilled confidence into Wapda as they pressed for the third through Shahid Rabbani only to see his effort being saved by Salman in the 53rd minute. Refusing to fold under immense pressure from the defending champions, PTCL retaliated the next minute reducing the margin via Zubair who came into action from the top of the circle with a full-blooded hit.

While Wapda sorely missed Sohail Abbas as they failed on the two short corners they forced, PTCL excelled in penalty corners with Ghazanfar striking twice through the same drill.

Ghazanfar, who has been quite effective as Sohail's alternative in Pakistan team, bamboozled Amanullah and Wapda dashers with an along-the-carpet push on the second of the three penalty corners in the 54th minute to restore parity.

Not only the equaliser sparked a new life into PTCL forward-line it also knocked the heart out of Wapda who had no answer to PTCL's incursions deep into their territory.

Ghazanfar once again did what his team-mates were expecting just two minutes later when he scored the match-winner through yet another slow and carpet push off Amanullah's stick.

Boosted by the third goal, PTCL started making regular inroads through Shakeel Abbasi who cut in deep left before being prevented from scoring by Amanullah. The Pakistan striker got involved in individual play when he again dribbled his way past two defenders but was eventually tackled by Amanullah.

In their last-ditch effort Wapda tried through an indirect drill but Waseem was timely tackled by a PTCL defender, while PTCL squandered an opportunity in the dying minutes of the game, Saleem Khalid missing from close.

After losing 3-4 to PTCL in the semifinal, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) got some consolation when they edged past Army 2-1 in the third place playoff.

After a barren first half, the bankers opened their account in the 43rd minute through Zahid Iqbal and doubled the lead with a Tariq Aziz goal in the 51st minute. The soldiers got the solitary goal through 66th-minute Mohammad Imran penalty stroke.

PTCL: Salman Akbar, Tariq Imran, Ghazanfar Ali, Imran Rasool, Sajjad Anwar, Mohammad Arif, Aqeel Hussain, Shakeel Abbasi, Saleem Khalid, Zubair, Irfan, Mohammad Iqbal, Rizwanul Haq, Sabzar Ali, Inayatullah and Waqas Akbar.

WAPDA: Amanullah, Ghulam Murtaza, Gohar Rasool, Rana Mohammad Asif, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt, Mudassir Ali Khan, Shahid Rabbani, Mohammad Shabbir, Mohammad Ashraf, Zakirullah, Rana Sajjad, Mohammad Mudassir, Shahzad Farid, Mohammad Adeel, Naveed Iqbal.

UMPIRES: Mohsin Ali Khan, Haider Rasool.