SALTA, Argentina: New Zealand stunned Pakistan 4-2 to win the Champions Challenge in Argentina on Sunday.
Sohail Abbas opened the scoring to put Pakistan up 1-0. But the lead was short lived with the Black Sticks scoring 10 minutes later.
Skipper Phil Burrows made it 2-1 to New Zealand in the 20th minute with a superb diving effort and then Rehan Butt used all his experience to score the second for Pakistan, a minute before half time.
In the second half Kiwi’s went in the offensive with two goals in one minute.
Steven Edwards drove the first shot home before Burrows deflected his second goal of the game past the keeper.
Pakistan battled to score over the final three minutes but the two-goal buffer was too much.
The win secures New Zealand a spot in the elite Champions Trophy in Germany in July-August next year.
There was good news for India too as the team came back from behind to beat hosts Argentina for the bronze medal.
India came back with a goal from Raghunath just moments before half time.
The Indian went in the offensive in the second half and levelled back with this fantastic field goal from Gurbaj.
Dhananjay Mahadik scored a third for the visitors to notch up a 3-2 win in the third place play off.
India were thrashed by Pakistan 3-6 in the semifinal on Saturday.
Pakistan hockey captain Zeeshan Asrhaf said poor goalkeeping and some bad finishing inside the circle let them down.
“Our keeper Salman Akbar failed to rise to the occasion and his below average performance was the main reason for the defeat,” he said.
“We were at the threshold of qualifying for next year’s Champions Trophy but we did not expect such an average performance from some of our more senior members.”
“A defeat is always painful, especially in the final and it was not the kind of result I was looking forward to. We have to address these problems before we go into the World Cup in India.”
Zeehsan said it was also unfortunate that Pakistan team could not get benefit from most of the short corners, only scoring one goal from seven opportunities.
“Over reliance on Sohail Abbas to produce a number of goals is not a fair though and we have to develop a hockey culture where we learn to score from field goals through some tactical hockey. Gone are the days when a single player can lead the team to success.”
“Opponent teams always chalk out plans against those players who are possible threats and we have to demonstrate a higher level of game if we want to win big tournaments.”
Overall, Ashraf thought Pakistan”s performance was pleasing “In some of matches we were extraordinary but unfortunately we weren”t consistent enough.” He said the pressure of big games sometimes gets to players “We wasted a lot of chances and failed to take advantage when we were dominating in the second half.”
Asharf, however, contended that his team will take some positives from the tournament.
“The defeat will be a lesson for the players. Playing six teams of the world in a tournament is a good experience for the team, especially for the young players.”
