CHINA: Unbeaten Pakistan played valiantly to register their first victory in the Hero Asian Champions Trophy by beating Japan 2-1 here at the Moqi Hockey Training Base on Wednesday.
Goals were scored by Ahmad Nadeem (10') and Sufyan Khan (21') while Raiki Fujishima (28') scored the lone goal for Japan. With this win, Pakistan is placed second in the pool standings, with five points behind India on the top.
Opening quarter witnessed Pakistan's intent to stay ahead of Japan in this game. Though they have remained unbeaten in the tournament so far with 2-2 draw against Malaysia and 2-2 draw against Korea, they needed a win to stay in contention for the title.
The strikers put Pakistan's intent on display with three early forays into the striking circle but could not put it past the Japanese goalie Takumi Kitagawa. Meanwhile, they did well to deny Japan their first big opportunity through a PC in the sixth minute with a good video referral.
After a couple of early attempts, Pakistan was finally able to draw first blood with a brilliant field goal by Ahmad Nadeem. It was Ghazanfar Ali who set up the attack by assisting in-form Hannan Shahid who played a clever tackle in the top of the circle to beat Japanese defenders and assist the Nadeem.
They built on the momentum in the second quarter to extend the lead to 2-0 when they earned a PC in the 21st minute. Sufyan Khan was on target, picked up the injection well to drive it past Japan's goalie Yosei Oba. Behind by two goals, Japan had to make amends to a poor start. They tried to hold on to the ball possession and create chances in Pakistan's circle but could not beat their defence.
However, an infringement by Pakistani defender gave away a PC in the 27th minute of the match. Though Japan messed up the execution in their first attempt, another foot foul in the following minute saw them being awarded another PC. This time, they made no mistake in execution, with their Captain Raiki Fujishima driving the ball past Pakistan's goalkeeper Ishtiaq Abdullah Khan.
Following the half-time break, both teams shifted gears as they pushed for goals. While Pakistan made as many as seven circle entries, Japan made six. Only two minutes into the third quarter, a good referral for back stick saw Japan win a PC but poor execution denied them a goal. Meanwhile, Pakistan too created four PCs in this quarter but could not convert any.
Pakistan's defence was put to test in the final quarter with Japan winning as many as 12 PCs. They made desperate attempts to find an equaliser but Pakistan held their nerves, defended with all their might. Their goalie Abdullah Khan was also up to the task, padding away a couple of PCs to keep his team in the lead.
The last six minutes remained tense, with Japan dominating the ball possession but Pakistan fought hard to hold on to the lead, and seal the match with three points in their kitty.
Hero of the Match, Sufyan Khan expressed delight over the win. He said, "We are happy to walk away with the winning points. Our Coach's instructions was to not make errors, in the first two matches we got too many cards that cost us dearly. We wanted to play a disciplined match today and we defended with all our heart. I am also happy to score for my team when we needed it the most."