BHUBANESWAR: Pakistan stunned the Netherlands 4-2, notching up their first win over the Dutch in 16 years, as their perfectly executed counter-attacks saw them put memories of a disappointing pool campaign behind them to reach the semi-finals of Champions Trophy on Thursday.

Mohammad Irfan scored two penalty corners in as many minutes to secure a come-from-behind victory for an inspired Pakistan side — their first over the Dutch in the Champions Trophy in 12 attempts, a run dating back to 1998 — with Shahnaz Sheikh’s men now facing arch-rivals India for a spot in the final on Saturday.

The match will be a repeat of the Asian Games final in Incheon, South Korea in October, which India won in a penalty shoot-out to gain a direct entry into the 2016 Olympics.

Shahnaz Sheikh’s men to face fierce rivals India for place in the final

The hosts fought back from being two goals down in the 18th minute to beat Belgium 4-2 in the last quarter-final on Thursday with goals from Rupinder Pal Singh, Uthappa Sannuvan­anda, Akashdeep Singh and Dharamvir Singh seeing them advance to the final four of the eight-nation tournament.

Earlier, Olympic champions Germany produced a perfect game to beat England 2-0 in an all-European battle en route to their semi-final berth.

The Germans, who finished at the bottom in the pool stages, produced a defensive master-class to tame the high-flying Englishmen, who impressed in the opening round and topped Pool ‘A’ and will now take on world champions Australia in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Australia, seeking what would be an incredible sixth successive title, cruised into the last four with a 4-2 win over Argentina.

Former champions Pakistan surprised everyone after failing to garner a point in the pool phase which determined the draws for the knockouts with all eight teams assured of quarter-final berths.

It was the second successive loss for Pool’ B’ winners Netherlands against an Asian team following their 3-2 defeat to India in their final pool match on Tuesday.

“Our tournament started on Thursday. We played our real game,” a beaming Shahnaz told reporters. “Before our departure from Pakistan, I said our target is a top-four finish.

“We had studied them (the Dutch) very carefully and we had found the right combination in our league games. This is a very important win for us and hopefully we will continue to shine in the semi-final.

“An Asian team doing well in hockey is always good for the health of the sport and the match against India will help in reviving Indo-Pak hockey.”

The Netherlands got off to a flying start when Jeroen Jertzberger sent in a crisp drive from the top of the circle in the fifth minute as the Dutch dominated possession. But Pakistan were playing a clever counter-attacking game which began to yield dividends.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan dribbles past Dutch players.—AFP

Mohammad Waqas created the equaliser with his right wing work unlocking the door for Mohammad Umar Bhutta to scramble home early in the second quarter.

Muhammad Rizwan Senior then drew a brilliant save from Jaap Stockman but the second goal for Pakistan did arrive a minute before the break when Imran converted a penalty corner, firing low past the Dutch goalkeeper.

The Netherlands had more control after the big break and got their reward 38 minutes in when Rogier Hofman’s driven cross from the right flank picked out Constantijn Jonker for a handy finish but Pakistan stepped up the attacks as the Dutch team was reduced to 10 players for 10 minutes during the last quarter as Sander Baart was yellow-carded.

Pakistan went ahead for a second time from a clever corner move, laying the ball into the path of Irfan to flick high into the net in the 51st.

Then a minute later, when the Dutch fluffed a corner of their own, Pakistan countered to win another set piece to which Irfan applied the killer touch.

Pakistan had lost all three league matches in the current competition, including an embarrassing 2-8 thrashing by England, but the tournament format helped them turn their fortunes around in dramatic style.

“Our objective was to use the league games to ensure better synergy. We managed to do that and I thought the Dutch players were demoralised after the loss to India,” Imran said.

Netherlands captain Robert van der Horst was all praise for Pakistan’s solid defence saying they “defended like lions”.

“I believe we didn’t play our best game. Pakistan gave us a hard job, they defended like lions. They defended harder than we attacked,” said Horst.

Dutch coach Max Caldas blamed the defeat on his team’s “undisciplined “performance, but conceded the loss of a player in the fourth quarter proved costly.

“It was appalling to have a man out for so long in a 15-minute quarter, “Caldas said. “But the blame lies in a very undisciplined display by the players. They just could not handle the pressure of a big match.”

Belgium took the lead in the first quarter when Felix Denayer scored in the 12th minute and doubled their advantage six minutes later thanks to Sebastine Dockier.

India pulled one back when drag-flicker Rupi­nder converted a penalty corner in the second quarter before Sannuvananda levelled matters in the 27th with a neat deflection.

Akashdeep put India in front in the 41st minute before Dharamvir finished off a counter to end Belgium’s resistance eight minutes later.

Australia, fielding a new-look team after retaining the World Cup earlier this year, slammed three quick goals after Pan-American champions Argentina had taken a 2-1 lead by the 35th minute.

Australia scored through penalty-corner specialist Chris Ciriello, Simon Orchard, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Hayward while Argentina got their goals from captain Matias Paredes and Manuel Brunet.

The Germans started their game at the Kalinga Stadium in attacking fashion, winning as many as five penalty corners in the opening 10 minutes before goals in the second and fourth quarters through Moritz Furste (30th minute) and Christopher Ruhr (58th) secured their victory.

Quarter-final results:

Pakistan 4 Netherlands 2

Australia 4 Argentina 2

Germany 2 England 0

India 4 Belgium 2

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2014