Police         2         Gujranwala 2

PTCL         3          Karachi ‘A’ 0

Sargodha   3          Rawalpindi 1


KARACHI, Jan 26: Faisalabad came from behind to overpower a spirited Multan side 3-2 thanks to a Shahbaz winner in the final round opener of the 50th national hockey championship which began amid fanfare on Sunday.

The championship, being the golden jubilee edition, started in a festive and colourful manner with children releasing balloons in the air and Rangers and Police bands in attendance.

The 12-day hockey gala has attracted the followers as the stands had respectable number of fans who came along with their families to enjoy the weekly holiday at the UBL Sports Complex.

Sindh Chief Minister, Ali Mohammad Mahar, who was the chief guest, gave away cash awards to the players of the match.

In other matches, Police drew 2-2 with Gujranwala, PTCL blanked Karachi ‘A’ 3-0 while Sargodha got the better of Rawalpindi by three goals to one.

The Faisalabad-Multan match started with a barren first half with the opening goal coming two minutes into the second session when Faisalabad’s Tariq Hussain found the cage off a penalty corner.

Multan first cancelled out that goal through Sajjad Ahmad in the 42nd minute and then went ahead three minutes later when Noman Khan made it 2-1.

Multan and Faisalabad were both reduced to ten players when Mohammad Usman and Mohammad Yousuf were shown yellow cards for rough play in the 47th minute.

Both sides were again locked with Faisalabad slamming home in the 57th minute when Raziq was on target. Faisalabad finally squeezed past Multan as Shahbaz banged home in the 61st minute to give his side full points.

Amir Sahi of Faisalabad, who was adjudged UBL player of the match, received Rs5,000.

Tariq Mahmood’s late equaliser helped Police draw 2-2 with Gujranwala going 1-0 up in the 14th minute of the first half, Mohammad Nazim netting off a short corner.

Policemen were only able to equalise after the break as Gujranwala kept them at bay until the 40th minute when Tariq slotted home a penalty corner. But Gujranwala shocked the policemen when they again forged ahead with a penalty corner conversion by Zulfiqar Haider in the 55th minute.

Police were relieved when Tariq had his name onto the scoresheet, once again converting a short corner in the 63rd minute to level the scores 2-2.

Mohammad Saleem of Gujranwala was named player of the match.

PTCL found rhythm in the second half to score three goals and a 3-0 victory over Karachi `A’ after a goalless first period of the match marred by slight flare-up.

PTCL made several inroads right from the beginning of the game but were always off target, chiefly because of lack of finish over which they finally overcame after breather.

Dominating the proceedings, PTCL made penetrating moves into Karachi `A’ half but wasted every opportunity. It was in the 15th minute that local side had a real scoring chance.

Wasif Raza of Karachi ‘A’ came near scoring but was thwarted by the opposing defenders, while PTCL’s Asim Chohan was seriously injured when Wasif swung his hockey stick in despair which hit Asim in the eye.

Asim, who had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment, was replaced by Tariq Yameen.

The game stopped for some four minutes as players from both sides got embroiled in heated arguments. The match restarted only after the intervention of the officials on the bench of both sides.

Shakeel Abbasi, also declared player of the match, moved from the right side to set up Saleem Khalid whose clinical finish gave PTCL their first goal in the 37th minute.

PTCL could have gone further ahead in the 43rd minute but Karachi `A’ goalkeeper Nasir Ahmad produced a fine save. Nasir, however, fumbled when Shakeel doubled the lead just after four minutes.

Saleem completed the tally when his blistering low hit from the top of the circle found the target in the 49th minute, completely beating Nasir and the Karachi defence.

Sargodha scored three first half goals to outplay Rawalpindi 3-1, starting with a 10th-minute Imran Zafar goal.

Shahid Junior increased the tally barely after two minutes, while Rawalpindi reduced the margin with a consolation goal through Iftikhar Ali three minutes later. Sargodha completed the scoring with a Mohammad Azam goal in the 33rd minute.

Bilal Saeed of Sargodha was named player of the match.

Monday’s fixtures:

Pakistan Army v Sargodha at 8.00am; Customs v Gujranwala at 10.00am; Police v Islamabad at 12.00pm; Habib Bank v Rawalpindi at 2.00pm; Karachi ‘A’ v Peshawar at 4.00pm.