Trailing 1-2 in the second half, the Pakistan pinned its hopes in the experienced Sohail as he readied himself for a short corner. The drag flick ace was on target as he beat the Dutch defense to give Pakistan a timely equalizer.
It was a great result for the Pakistanis as just last week they were thrashed 4-0 by Netherlands during the four-nation Rabo Trophy in Amsterdam. The poor result was the main reason why Pakistan crashed to a last-place finish in the tournament that also featured Germany and England.
“Our boys played really well today,” Khawaja Junaid, the Pakistan team manager, told Arab News from Amsterdam. “They stuck to the game plan and never allowed the Dutch to dominate the match like they did in the Rabo Trophy,” added Junaid, a former Olympian.
Pakistan, who was stunned by lower-ranked Belgium in its last Test match in Brussels, drew first blood against the Dutch with the young Mohammad Rashid scoring in the opening session. The home team went on an all out attack to level the score and finally managed to make it 1-1. It kept on attacking and made it 2-1 to bring Pakistan under more pressure. However, Pakistan responded with a Sohail Abbas goal to share the honors.
The two teams will meet in the second and final Test in Amsterdam on Saturday. It will be the final match of Pakistan’s month-long European tour and Junaid promised that his team will go all out for a win against the Dutch.
“We’ve had a very fruitful tour of Europe and will want to end it on a winning note,” he said. “Netherlands are a very strong team and a positive result against them will certainly boost our morale and confidence.” Pakistan, the reigning Asian Games champion, is currently preparing for next year’s Olympic Games in London. The Pakistanis have won three Olympic gold medals but their last title came way back in 1984 in Los Angeles.
Junaid believes that his team is shaping up well ahead of the London Games.
“The boys are responding well to training. They are improving with each game and that’s a good sign.” Pakistan began the tour with a title-winning triumph in a four-nation event in Dublin that also featured host Ireland, China and France.
But Pakistan slumped to a last-place finish in the Amsterdam quadrangular and suffered further embarrassment with a 4-1 defeat by the Belgians in a Test match.
