LAHORE, Dec 7: Pakistan failed the first real test at the Champions Trophy hockey as defending champions The Netherlands pulverised the hosts 4-1 at National Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
The game against the Dutch proved a different story as compared to the outings against youthful Germany and lowly-rated New Zealand in which Pakistan scored 3-1 victories. Pakistan got the real taste of competitive hockey as the Dutchmen displayed resilience and professionalism they had promised to show, while the green shirts were a disjointed lot.
After coming close to scoring and missing through Karel Klaver, The Netherlands stunned the opposition with an opportunist Ronald Brouwer strike in the 15th minute. Pakistan seemed to be back on track with a Sohail Abbas equaliser four minutes later that also saw the penalty corner striker equalling Australian Mark Hager's 32-goal record - the highest score by any player at Champions Trophy.
But it proved mere a flash in the pan as Sohail either failed or was contained on three more occasions. Missing and wobbling with the ball was all Pakistani forwards could do despite creating several opportunities and that too because of somewhat slack Dutch defence in the first half.
Rehan missed an open chance in the 21st minute, while Shabbir Hussain try was blocked by Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogels two minutes later. While the Dutch missed a penalty corner conversion through Taeke Taekema in the 24th minute, Vogels denied Sohail two minutes later.
Pakistan goalkeeper Salman Akbar, on the other hand, also showed agility as he produced a superb save off a Taekema penalty corner. Sohail was again frustrated by an on rushing Vogels on the third short corner two minutes before halftime whistle.
The Netherlands made amends after lemons, not only making their defence solid, but also went 2-1 ahead on the third penalty corner, this time Taekema finding the target with an accurate push past Salman four minutes into second period.
The second goal by the Dutch was enough to knock the wind out of Pakistan's sail as the forwards started manoeuvring on their own rather than combined efforts. The champions could have netted their third, but a reverse hit by Rob Reckers missed the target in he 44th minute.
Sohail again tried on the fourth short corner only to see the ball deflect off Vogels stick to cross the back-line in the 46th minute. Pakistan missed two promising openings, Shabbir failing to connect a Dilawar Hussain free hit in the 50th minute, and Shakeel Abbasi ballooning the ball over the bar five minutes later, although he had rounded Vogels.
As goal-shy Pakistanis kept on squandering the chances, the Dutch fired home twice within three minutes. Klaver raced down the left to cut in deep right before tearing the Pakistani defence to net the third in the 65th minute.
The Dutch captain Jeroen Delmee wrapped up the game with the fourth, slamming home the fourth penalty corner two minutes before the end. In another match, India fought back from 1-0 down to gain first points with a 3-1 win over Germany.
The start was perfect for the Germans who opened the account with a Jan-Marco Montag strike in the 20th minute. But Indians replied with a Sandeep Michael equaliser in the 40th minute.
Arjun Halappa doubled the ascendancy in the 58th minute, while Vivek Gupta got the third off a Sandeep Singh free hit three minutes before time. Spain emerged worthy 3-1 winners against New Zealand who suffered their third straight loss.
Spain's Pau Quemada's 40th-minute effort was equalised by Darren Smith of New Zealand six minutes later. Quemada got his double in the 54th minute and Santiago Freixa made it 3-1 in the 63rd minute.
WEDNESDAY FIXTURES: The Netherlands v Spain 11.00pm; Germany v New Zealand 1.00pm; Pakistan v India 3.00pm.
Spain 3 New Zealand 1
The Netherlands 4 Pakistan 1
India 3 Germany 1
Standings
P W D L F A PTS
Spain 3 3 0 0 12 3 9
Netherlands 3 3 0 0 14 7 9
Pakistan 3 2 0 1 7 6 6
India 3 1 0 2 7 10 3
Germany 3 0 0 3 4 11 0
New Zealand 3 0 0 3 4 11 0