Independence Cup hockey match: Oman goes down fighting to PIA
Date
8/29/2016 1:29:37 AM
A fancied Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) side staved off a fighting display from Oman before eking out a narrow 3-2 win in a penalty shootout during the Independence Cup friendly hockey match at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) on Tuesday night.
The PIA team featured a number of current Pakistan national team players, but were in for a surprise from the hosts as they finished the regulation-time on 3-3. Oman, which is preparing for the Hockey World League (HWL) event in Turkey next month, led 3-1 at one stage before PIA fought back to draw level and force a shootout. Mohammed Hubeis scored a brace, while Shafi Talib was the other scorer for Oman. Pakistan internationals Ihsanullah, Anayatullah and Owaisur Rehman were on target for the visiting side. In the shootout, Younis Ghabish al Nofli and Ahmed Sabeel scored, while Abdullah Hamood, Sami Awadh and Shafi Talib's shots were saved by PIA goalkeeper Ali Haider.
Oman and PIA players in action at the SQSC on Tuesday (Ahmed al Saidi/Muscat Daily)
For PIA, Yasir Islam, Muhammad Zubair and Kashif Ali scored past Oman substitute goalkeeper Ghassan al Hasani. Oman was missing its regular goalie Fahad al Nofli, who is out of action due to a knee surgery. Said al Hasani started the match but Ghassan was fielded in the second half of the match. The match was organised by Pakistan Social Club (PSC) in association with the Oman Hockey Association (OHA), Pakistan International Airlines and Muscat Beach Trading as part of Pakistan's 70th Independence Day celebrations. The team was accompanied by former Pakistan international Mohammad Irfan (PIA team's coach), two-time Olympic medallist and goalkeeping legend Shahid Ali (manager), and Qamar Ibrahim, a 1992 Olympic bronze medal winner (assistant manager). Later, the chief guest, H E Rashad al Hinai, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, presented the awards and mementoes to both the teams in the presence of a large crowd. The Oman hockey team will leave for Amsterdam, The Netherlands on Friday for a camp en route to its participation in the HWL Round 1 in Antalya, Turkey from September 9-11.
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