KARACHI, Sept 26: Defending champions, Railways, continued their winning run when they edged out Faisalabad 5-2 in their second Pool A match of the 21st National women’s hockey championship at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) Stadium, on Monday.

Railways, aspiring to win the title seventh time in a row and 13 time overall, outplayed Karachi Whites 22-0 in the opener.

They now take on Lahore Whites in their last group match on Tuesday and a victory will put them on top of the pool besides ensuring a passage into the semifinals.

Faisalabad were the first to drew blood through Sumaira Anjum who sounded the board off a penalty corner in the 4th minute. Railways then slammed three field gaols in a span of 21 minutes, two coming through Rifat Mehdi and the other by Nida Bashir to enhance their lead to 3-1.

Faisalabad managed to reduce the deficit 2-3 through Naila Zaneb who scored off a penalty stroke just three minutes from halftime.

In the post-interval period, Railways added two more goals to their tally through Nida Bashir and Ishrat to win the battle 5-2.

The two Quetta teams registered their first wins in the tournament. Quetta Whites stunned Army 4-1 after leading by a solitary goal at half time. Shazia (2), Kulsoom and Ruqia, one each, shared the scoring honours for the winners while Aqbia netted the consolation goal for soldiers.

Quetta Colours trounced Larkana 3-0 with all the goals coming in the second half. Zara slammed twice while Shahida completed the tally for the winners.

Lahore Whites chalked up a 3-0 victory over Karachi Whites to earn full points. Fakhra Jabeen, Mafia and Ayesha Rafiq scored one goal apiece for the outstation team.

In the last match, Karachi’s senior outfit, Colours, conjured up their second win in a row beating lowly Bahawalpur by 8-0 to strengthen their position in Pool C.

Sahreesh emerged as top-scorer with three goals. She was ably followed by Mehreen who scored twice while Sobia Gul, Ghazala and Ambreen netted one goal each.

Tuesday’s fixtures: Sukkur v Hyderabad at 9.00 am; Faisalabad v Karachi Whites at 11.00 am; Lahore Colours v Army at 2.00 pm; Railways v Lahore Whites at 4.00 pm.