ATHENS, Aug 19: Rehan Butt scored a goal and set up another as Pakistan took a giant stride towards the Olympic field hockey semifinals with a 3-0 win over Asian rivals South Korea here on Thursday.

The -year-old from Lahore, who missed a simple chance in the goal less first half, got into the act eight minutes after resumption when he deflected in a free hit from outside the circle.

Butt then broke through the Korean defence in the 56th minute and passed to an unmarked Shakeel Abbasi, who cooly pushed home. Penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas completed Pakistan's emphatic win by scoring the third goal four minutes before the end.

Pakistan rocketed to the top of group A with six points from three matches, two more than Sydney Olympics silver medallists South Korea, who are on four. World champions Germany, the strongest contender in the 'group of death', will move a point ahead of Pakistan later on Thursday if they defeat unfancied Egypt.

Pakistan, who lost to Germany before thrashing Egypt 7-0, need a win and a draw in their remaining matches against Spain and Britain to finish among the top two in the group.

"We deserved to win because we took the chances that came our way in the second half," said Pakistan's Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans. "Rehan impresses me the more I see him play. He is a very intelligent striker who understands the movement of the ball.

"I don't want my team to become complacent. We must win both matches and then the main task starts when the semifinals come." South Korean manager Jeon Jae-Hong lamented the lost opportunities.

"We got three penalty corners, the same as Pakistan, but could not use them to get goals," he said. "The team is not playing at its best. We were held by Spain and almost drew against Britain," he said referring to the narrow 3-2 win on Tuesday.

"A lot of hard work and some luck is needed if we are to move up." Pakistan play Spain next on Saturday, while the Koreans take on Egypt the same day. Meanwhile, Karel Klaver scored the winner in the penultimate minute as defending champions the Netherlands fought back to defeat South Africa 3-2.

The Dutch, seeking a hat-trick of Olympic golds, were stung by two goals from Steven Evans and Ian Symonds which put the South Africans 2-0 ahead by the rd minute. But a disputed penalty corner goal by Geert-Jan Derikx six minutes before the interval and two in the second-half by Teun de Nooijer and Klaver helped the Dutch take full points from the match.

It was the third successive victory for the Netherlands in group B, while the South Africans would consider themselves unlucky to miss out. They are stuck on three points from as many games.

Evans provided the perfect opening for South Africa when he beat the Dutch goalkeeper with a stinging reverse hit from the top of the circle in the 16th minute. Symons made it 2-0 soon after when he deflected in a penalty corner, only to see a disputed goal spark the Dutch fight back.

Teake Taekema's drag flick hit a South African defender and Derikx pounced on the loose ball and pushed home. The South Africans protested the ball was dead as soon as it hit the defender, but South Korean umpire Jin Soo-Han ruled in favour of the Dutch after consulting his colleague at the other end.

Crossing over 1-2 behind, the Dutch attacked the rival defence and Nooijer scored in the 49th minute to help his team draw level. After Klaver's winner a minute before the final whistle, the South Africans got a chance to share points, but four last-minute penalty corners went a begging.

Dutch coach Terry Walsh, a former Australian international, brushed aside the suggestion his team was fortunate to win. The Netherlands take on Argentina on Saturday. South Africa clash with Australia the same day. -AFP

GROUP 'A' STANDINGS