The Pakistan men’s junior hockey team’s hopes of ending on the podium at the Sultan of Johor Cup were ended by a late Henry Markham goal as they were beaten 3-2 by Great Britain in their third-place playoff at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Bahru on Saturday.

Just like their 3-3 draw against Australia in their last round-robin match the other day, Pakistan were once again guilty of conceding early goals and despite having levelled the match at 2-2 in the 54th minute, they were eventually undone by Markham’s strike three minutes from time.

Great Britain, who had finished third in the round-robin table — one spot ahead of Pakistan, made a fast start and raced into a two-goal lead in the first quarter. Kaden Dreysey captalised on a penalty corner in the seventh minute before Michael Royden added the second in the 12th.

Captain Abdul Hannan Shahid’s field goal reduced the deficit in the 23rd but despite Sufyan Khan’s drag-flick expertise coming to the fore in the final quarter, it wasn’t enough for Pakistan.

Australia will face India in the title clash after the Indians scraped past Malaysia 2-1 in Friday’s first game. India’s victory saw them end on 10 points, one behind table-toppers Australia.

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