April 25, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1429

LAHORE, April 24: In an impressive display of dodging and conversion, defender Kashif Ali on Thursday fired in two penalty corner goals to propel Pakistan Juniors to a convincing 3-1 win over South Africa in the third hockey Test, ensuring a series victory for the visitors in the five-match event at Durban.

According to the information made available here, the touring side led 1-0 at interval and pumped in two more goals in the following session to seal the fate of home team.

Pakistan made amends of their lackadaisical second Test show by displaying more confidence and commitment in the third encounter. The coordination between the deep defense and the midfield gave no chance to the South African forwards to make dangerous inroads while the frontline was swift in their attacking strategy which enabled them to earn a series of penalty corners.Pakistan opened their account from their second penalty corner in the 16th minute of the first half with Kashif Ali’s drag-flick finding the top of the net. Pakistan kept South Africa under pressure but the hosts withstood to some extent in the first half.

Pakistan continued with their forays on resumption, particularly the wingers who ripped through the South African defense regularly. The visitors doubled the lead in the 42nd minute as Kashif drag-flicked with accuracy to score off a penalty corner. The lead was further stretched in the 59th minute through inside right Shafqat Rasool who beat the goalie to hit the board through a powerful shot.

South Africa got the consolation goal at the fag end of the match from a field attempt but could not make further inroads in Pakistan’s defenses.

“It’s good to see the team winning the series,” Chief Coach Jahangir Butt said after the match. “We would have scored more goals but there were some flawed umpiring decisions from the local umpires which deprived us. However, the boys played excellently and I am satisfied with that,” he said.—APP