March 28, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 8, 1428

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KARACHI, March 27: Two goals apiece by Mohammad Usman, Shafqat Malik and Saleem Amir saw PIA complete the National Hockey Championship quarter-final line-up after they thrashed minnows Peshawar 10-0 on Tuesday.

The national airlines have joined HBL, Steel Mills, Wapda, Pakistan Army, NBP, Karachi, and SSGC in the last eight stage of the premier event.

Peshawar, who have crashed out of the event, were nothing but shooting target for national carriers as veteran Shafqat opened the scoring in the 10th minute before extending the lead six minutes later at Hockey Club of Pakistan.

Waqas Akbar made it 3-0 three minutes before going for the break, while Saleem hammered in the fourth on a penalty stroke in the 41st minute.

PIA added two quick goals in the space of two minutes as first Mohammad Asim found the target in the 46th minute and then Saleem slotted home for his double.

Imran Khan’s 50th-minute goal was followed by a Mukhtar Ahmad strike in the 65th minute, while former Pakistan captain Usman showed glimpses of past when he was on target in the 66th and 69th minutes to seal the fate of the match.

SSGC became group C champions but not before breaking sweat in edging past underdogs Karachi 2-0. The way the local outfit was making onslaughts against a star-studded SSGC squad was indeed a shock for the fans as the winners had no less than six current or former Pakistan players in their ranks.

Captained by former Pakistan penalty corner exponent Sohail Abbas, the formidable SSGC looked like rookies against Karachi who were making dangerous inroads in the first half from the outset. SSGC did make some moves near the end of the first session, they lacked firepower and nip required to score.

Karachi rued some missed chances in the first half through Arif Hussain. It was a minute before halftime whistle that Arif had the best opportunity to open score but failed to connect a perfect cross.

While SSGC were yet to stamp authority on the match, Karachi kept on missing sitters as Uzair Ahmad squandered a golden opportunity, although Rizwan gave him a perfect pass in the 42nd minute.

The winners finally broke the ice when Pakistan spearhead Shakeel Abbasi opened the account with a reverse hit that saw the ball hit the roof of the net in the 46th minute.

Sohail, who has now been debarred from donning national colour by PHF for skipping national camp for foreign league, returned frustrated when his blistering push was well saved by Karachi goalkeeper Qurban in the 53rd minute.

Karachi should have easily equalised in the 56th minute, but an inch-perfect pass by Sibatin Raza from 25-yard line was wasted by Uzair whose delayed hit was cleared off to safety by SSGC defence.

While Sohail was once again kept at bay by Karachi’s defence on a 54th-minute short corner, it was Shakeel who pounced on a rebound to finish off with a reverse hit. Karachi again came close to reduce the margin three minutes before fulltime but all Junaid could do was to slam the ball straight on Pakistan goalkeeper Salman Akbar’s pads who has switched over to SSGC after PTCL abolished its hockey team.

Three-goal Mohammad Usman helped Pakistan Navy score a consolation 5-3 victory over Rawalpindi in their last match.

Rawalpindi’s Mohammad Usman found the cage in the 10th minute before Navy’s Usman equalised five minutes later. Nauman Jabbar put Navy 2-1 ahead in the 45th minute, while Navy’s Usman slammed home twice in the 47th and 50th minute.

Mohammad Tariq netted the second for Rawalpindi in the 55th minute and Mohammad Azhar scored the final goal for Navy in the 62nd minute. Hassan Arifi reduced the margin for Rawalpindi two minutes before the end.

Wednesday’s fixtures (quarter-finals):

HBL v Steel Mills at 10.00pm; Wapda v Pakistan Army at 12.00pm; NBP v Karachi at 2.00pm; SSGC v PIA at 4.00pm.