Greenshirts hold Dutch to 2-2 draw

A much-needed strike by Sohail Abbas in the dying moments of the match helped Pakistan hold Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in their first Test in Amsterdam on Friday.

Trailing 1-2 in the second half, the Pakistan pinned their hopes in the experienced Sohail as he readied himself for a short corner. The drag flick ace was bang on target as he beat the Dutch defence to give Pakistan a timely equaliser.

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,” said Khawaja Junaid, the Pakistan team manager. “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 were stunned by lower-ranked Belgium in their last Test match in Brussels, drew first blood against the Dutch with the young Mohammad Rashid netting the ball in the opening session. The home team went on an all out attack to level the scores and finally managed to make it 1-1. They kept on attacking and made it 2-1 to bring Pakistan under more pressure. However, the Pakistanis responded with a Sohail Abbas goal to share the honours.

The two teams will meet in the second and final Test in Amsterdam on Saturday (today). 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 champions, are 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.

Pakistan began the tour with a title-winning triumph in a four-nation event in Dublin that also featured hosts Ireland, China and France. But they slumped to a last-place finish in the Amsterdam quadrangular and faced further embarrassment when they were stunned 4-1 by the Belgians in a Test match.