KARACHI: Pakistan's two-match winning streak was brought to an end on Sunday as they squandered chances and lost to Great Britain 3-2 at the Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Great Britain opened the scoring in the 8th minute through Robert Moore. After that, Pakistan struggled to create chances in the first half, with Shakeel Abbasi missing a chance to equalise in the 24th minute.
Simon Mantell came close to making it 2-0 for Great Britain in the 25th minute but his shot was saved by Pakistani keeper Imran Shah.
Pakistan's first penalty corner came in the 27th minute and the opportunity was wasted but soon enough, Sohail Abbas scored the equaliser for Pakistan through their second penalty corner in the 31st minute.
In the second half, Great Britain once again took the lead over Pakistan through Jonathan Clarke in the 39th minute.
Pakistan got another chance to equalise but the shot from the penalty corner was saved by Great Britain's keeper, while Umar Bhutta also missed a sitter for Pakistan in the 55th minute.
Great Britain increased their lead in the 63rd minute as Clarke scored his second goal and the score stood at 3-1. Pakistan quickly caught up and made the score line 3-2 as Abdul Haseem Khan scored in the 64th minute.
Pakistan were given another penalty corner in the 67th minute but failed to convert it into a goal as Sohail sent it wide.
Pakistan defeated New Zealand and South Korea in the first two matches with impressive performances and will now face Australia on May 9.
India vs Australia
Earlier, India and Australia's match ended in a 1-1 draw.
AFP reports, world champions Australia were held to a 1-1 draw by India thanks to a superb defensive performance against a second-half onslaught from the world's leading team.
Both teams now have four points after a win and a draw, but the Indians have played a game more, losing to South Korea.
Just six months ago India were thrashed 0-8 by Australia in the Commonwealth Games final in New Delhi and Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said the result was disappointing.
“But I am not surprised... India played good hockey but I think we too were responsible as we did not take our chances,” he said.
It was a resilient performance by India who had to absorb tremendous pressure in the second-half as the Australians pushed for victory after being pegged back from a 14th minute lead.
Australia created early opportunities with Glenn Turner and Jacob Whetton having good shots at goal saved by India's Adrian D'Souza.
The Aussies took the lead through Whetton, who scored with a field goal after dribbling into the D.
India had several chances but the best opportunity came in the 19th minute when Shivender Singh missed the final touch.
But Indian pressure paid off in the 23rd minute, equalising from their first penalty corner.
Rupinderpal Singh, who scored three penalty goals in the match against Britain, flicked home the ball for his fourth goal of the tournament.
Australia, the World Number one, responded by going on the offensive, dominating play for much of the second-half. But the Indians managed to hold out for the draw, ably clearing the ball from defence.
Both teams were unhappy with the umpiring claiming it was inconsistent and that decisions had gone against them.
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