KARACHI Two-goal Abdul Jabbar helped rookies Islamabad shock Multan 3-1 to reach semi-finals of Junior Super Hockey League after a quarter-final delayed by power outage at Hockey Club of Pakistan on Monday.
The match, which was actually scheduled to roll off at 8.45pm, was rescheduled to start at 9.30pm on the insistence of a private TV channel covering the league from quarter-finals.
However, the match could not be even start at 9.30pm because of power failure following which there was virtually a blackout at the venue, although the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) had assured there would be no power failure from Sept 1 to 18.
Either there were no standbye generators or they could not work which exposed the slackness of the organizers. Interestingly, there is no organizing secretary and the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is organizing the event itself without giving the local association the hosting rights.
The match eventually started after a delay of about hour and a half to two hours when KESC managing director was contacted by the organisers, disturbing the remaining schedule.
While it must be a horrific day for the organizers, Multan took a nightmarish start when Islamabad grabbed the shock lead through player of the match Arsalan penalty stroke in the 41st minute
There was yet another surprise for the losers when Islamabad went 2-0 up through Jabbar four minutes later. Islamabad were reduced to 10 players after Faisal was yellow-carded in the 48th minute.
Multan got their consolation goal when skipper Khurram Shehzad converted a penalty stroke in the 73rd minute, while Islamabad wrapped up the proceedings with a Jabbar strike a minute before the end.
Faisalabad also qualified for the semi-finals after a 4-1 penalty stroke session against Karachi following a 4-4 draw in stipulated time.
The fluctuating match started with Faisalabad scoring through Mohammad Tauseeq in the third minute before local outfit equalised in the 12th minute through a penalty stroke converted by Zubair Ahmad.
Karachi went 3-1 up when first Sarfaraz Ahmad slammed home in the 24th minute and then Aley Imran converted a penalty corner in the 31st minute.
Undaunted, Faisalabad made it 2-3 through Tauseeq penalty corner in the 33rd minute, while player of the match Mohammad Rizwan restored parity in the 65th minute.
Faisalabad grabbed the lead in the 71st minute, Tauseeq scoring on a short corner before Zubair made it 4-4 just seconds before the fulltime. The game was finally decided on strokes after both sides ended regulation time on deadlock.
Favourites Lahore broke sweat before scoring an unconvincing 3-2 victory over a battling Quetta to move into last four stage thanks to two strikes by Mohmmad Rizwan.
The winners, who finished at top of the points table with 22 points, started with two goals by player of the match Rizwan in the fourth and 12th minutes.
Quetta, who finished at eighth place at points table, fought back to reduce the margin in the 30th minute when Mehdi Abbas came into action.
Lahore got their third with Mohammad Bilal scoring in the 40th minute. Breathing behind their opponent's neck, Quetta once again threatened their strong rivals when Jamal Khan slammed home a penalty corner in the 49th minute.
Quetta faced a setback when Jamal got temporary suspension. Lahore must have heaved a sigh of relief after the match ended on a 3-2 in their favour.
Mohammad Adnan slammed three goals to guide Sialkot to a 4-2 win against Abbottabad which saw them moving into semi-finals.
Adnan, the player of the match, drew first blood in the 27th minute, while his teammate Jawaid Riaz doubled he lead on a short corner two minutes later.
Abbottabad gave their opponents a tough time when they put the game on an even keel. First they reduced the margin through Taimur Malik in the 35th minute before leveling the scores two minutes later as Qasim slammed home.
But two penalty strokes by Adnan saved Sialkot. Adnan scored in the 39th minute for his second and then slotted home another stroke in the 69th minute.
Tuesday will the rest day. Lahore face Sialkot at 9.30pm, while Islamabad meet Faisalabad at 11.45pm in Wednesday's semi-finals.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.