Pakistan made sensational comeback to snatch a point from the Netherlands with a 3-3 draw in the Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup (JWC) at Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium here, today.
World number four Netherlands, dominated the Group D match right from the start, but the dominance only resulted in a goal in the 21st minute when Boris Aardenburg scored a field goal, before Casper Van Der Veen doubled the lead with another field goal in the 30th minute.
However, Pakistan, ranked 12th in the world, managed to rebound quickly through Arshad Liaqat’s field goal a minute later, while Muhammad Sufyan Khan leveled the score via penalty corner in the 36th minnute.
The Dutch-side, who was shocked by the equaliser, took the lead again through Olivier Hortensius’ field goal in the 47th minute, but the 1979 JWC champions, Pakistan tied the game when Arbaz Ahmad converted a penalty stroke in the 55th to share the spoils.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pakistan’s coach Roelant Oltmans was delighted with his charges’ praiseworthy performance despite not having enough preparations before the tournament.
“Not expecting this, to be honest we started the game with faults and I think everyone in the world was surprised we drew with them, I know the quality of my boys but I also know my team is not consistent in every tournament.
“As you guys can see today’s game the squad saw some high points and also committed so many fouls, if we keep consistent after this I think we can do better in next game,” the former Malaysian senior team head coach said.
Earlier, in another Group D fixture, Belgium beat New Zealand 4-0 to top the group.
The Red Lions scored through Hugo Labouchere’s penalty stroke (18th), Jack Labouchere’s field goal (18th), Louis Depelsenaire’s field goal (21th) and Thomas Crols’ field goal (34th).
The win saw Belgium lead the Group D with three points, followed by Pakistan and Netherlands with one point each, while New Zealand are at the bottom.
Belgium will play Netherlands, while Pakistan will meet New Zealand next. - Bernama
