September 07, 2007	Friday	Sha'aban 24, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 6: Two-goal Yasin Anwar excelled in the field as National champions National Bank (NBP) slumped to a shock 4-2 defeat against Steel Mills in All-Pakistan Shaheed-i-Millat hockey tournament at the Hockey Club of Pakistan on Thursday.

The bankers, who have named their outfit Whites, took a confident start with a Zeeshan Taufeeq goal with the game barely few seconds old.

Steel Mills put the game on an even keel when Yasin capitalised on a blunder by NBP goalkeeper Shabbir Hussain in the 13th minute. The winners went 2-1 up when Zia Safdar slotted home on a direct drill five minutes later.

Steel Mills continued their onslaughts yet into the second half and extended the lead in the 47th minute when Ishtiaq Ahmad cashed-in on a defensive lapse following a perfect minus pass from Yasin.

Having Pakistan full-back Zeeshan Ashraf, forward Adnan Zakir, and juniors Haseem Khan and Mohammad Atiq in their ranks, the bankers pulled their second one in the 50th minute through a Rizwan Ali strike to reduce the margin 3-2.

But that could not stop Steel Mills from emerging as the deserved winners as they sealed the fate of the match with their fourth when Yasin completed his double in the 60th minute after Irfan Khan’s back pass.

Wapda were also stunned 4-5 by Pakistan Navy at UBL Sports Complex courtesy a hat trick by Rizwanul Hussain in a match which saw the sailors changing gears in the second half.

Mohammad Arif opened Wapda’s account in the 21st minute, while Navy equalised through Rizwan four minutes later.

Wapda once again grabbed the lead as Zakirullah found the target a minute into the second session before Rizwan restored parity a minute later.

Zakirullah struck in the 42nd minute, while Khurram Butt slammed home to make 4-2 for Wapda, but Navy staged a remarkable comeback to score three more goals. Rizwan came into action to complete his treble in the 55th minute, Mohammad Azhar equalised in the 59th, while Mohammad Imran banged home the 68th-minute winner.

Discarded Pakistan centre-forward Kashif Jawwad struck twice in Port Qasim Authority’s (PQA) 2-1 win over Habib Bank (HBL).

The bankers, who missed several sitters in the first half, opened the scoring with a Zubair Riaz goal two minutes before the break.

Kashif converted a shorted corner in the 49th minute before scoring a field goal two minutes from time.

PIA gave Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) a hockey lesson when they scored a convincing 5-1 victory.

POF took the lead in the 10th minute through a Tayyab penalty stroke, while Mahmood Ali equalised in the 22nd minute, Inayatullah slotted home the second barely 60 seconds later.

The national airlines scored their third through Saleem Amin in the 67th minute, while Mohammad Zubair and Inayat completed the tally in the 68th and 69th minutes.

Friday’s fixtures:

PIA v Karachi at 10.00am; HBL v POF at 11.30am; Steel Mills v Navy at 3.00pm; Wapda v KESC at 4.30pm.