Ruthless Army defeat all

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Army trounced National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) 2-0 in the final to lift the title of 1st Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, Pakistan Sports Complex on Saturday.
The final started with slow pace, as the both teams were careful to make any mistakes at the earlier stage of the match. Both teams wasted some chances to get a lead in the most crucial encounter of the tournament.
The winners wasted one penalty corner in the first half while NBP wasted five penalty corners. NBP, who had the services of Olympians including Muhammad Imran Warsi and Nadeem ND, failed to impress with the performance in the last match of the tournament.
In the second half, the NBP defenders did a couple of blunders that they had to pay for. Shahid Rao led Army in the 47th minute when his penalty corner push went straight in the net.
After a minute, Rizwan Junior doubled the lead for Pakistan Army when he hit the ball right through the goalposts after receiving an accurate pass from his right-in.
The NBP left-fullback dribbled the ball unnecessarily at the top of the 16-meters circle and the forward snatched the ball to create an open opportunity for Rizwan to double the lead. Rizwan had scored two goals in the semi-final against PTV day before yesterday at the same venue.