Pakistan Friday came back from three goals down in the first quarter to share the spoils with Malaysia as the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 started with an eight-goal thriller.
Pakistan have a poor start in the match as they conceded three early goals in the first quarter. Fitri Saari put Malaysia ahead in the fourth winner through a penalty stroke. Three minutes later Abu Kamal Azrai made it 2-0 for Malaysia as Pakistan came under immense pressure. Pakistani defenders continued to commit blunders and conceded two penalty corners and a penalty stroke in the first quarter. Malaysian’s pressure paid off once again as they made it 3-0 when Faizal Saari scored from a penalty corner. Similarly, the Pakistani forward line was also unimpressive as despite winning penalty corners they remained unsuccessful in scoring a goal.
The second quarter was a goalless affair with both teams trying to penetrate each other’s defence but failed to score as the first half ended with a 3-0 scoreline in Malaysia’s favour.
In the third quarter, Abdul Ramzan opened the account for Pakistan through a field goal in the 32nd minute. However, again restored a 3-goal lead of Malaysia in the 42nd minute through another penalty stroke. Sufyan Khan gave Pakistan their second goal in the 43rd minute through a penalty corner as the third quarter ended with a 4-2 goalline in Malaysia’s favour.
The fourth quarter started at a brisk pace with Pakistan forwards trying their best to get another opening. Their efforts paid off when Hannan Shahid scored a third goal for Pakistan in the 52nd minute.
The match was about to end with Malaysia winning 4-3 but in the dying moments Pakistan’s forwards earned a penalty stroke and Abu Bakar Mahmood made no mistake to convert the opportunity into a goal in the final 60th minute that earned Pakistan a stunning 4-4 draw in their tournament opener.
