Pak start on winning note

Post news network

Bhubaneswar, Dec 3: Pakistan started their Champions Trophy campaign with a 3-0 victory against Argentina in a practice match here at the Kalinga Stadium, Wednesday. The goals were scored by Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Arslan Qadir and Mohammad Rizwan (Sr)

The Shahnaz Sheikh-coached Pakistan played their traditional short passes throughout the game while the Los Leones resorted to the long ball to break the Pakistani defence. They could have got a couple of goals if their strikers would have been more opportunistic and certainly the margin of victory wouldn’t have appeared as emphatic as it did at the end.

Argentina attempted to keep more of ball possession. But a foul in the ‘D’ resulted in Pakistan getting their first penalty corner which skipper Imran duly converted in the 24^th minute.

Pakistan continued to press forward and their skills had the Argentina defence in tatters. It was the turn of Qadir to score just before the end of the second quarter when he received a lovely through ball from the midfield and slammed home.

When the game resumed after the interval, Argentina were visibly more aggressive. However they were always suspect against the counter-attack and off one such Pakistan earned their second penalty corner. Rizwan (Sr) scored with a powerful hit.

While it is sure that both team would not play with same strategy in their pool matches of the tournament, but what was on offer Wednesday certainly gives the Carlos Retegui-coached side a lot to ponder about. They are certainly strong in long passes but while playing against Asian teams, their weakness in defence will definitely be exploited by others.

The match ended after three quarters following which both teams practiced the newly introduced penalty shootout rule for tied matches.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan arrived to the Kalinga Stadium amid heavy security arrangements. Although, they appeared a bit tired in the start of their training session under coach Shahnaz Sheikh, there was no sign of fear or any worry on their faces. They seemed quite relaxed in the serene atmosphere of the city. There were quite a few fans to welcome and cheer them as they got down from the team bus.