KARACHI - SSGC will meet NBP in the final of the 65th Muhammad Noor Khan National Hockey Championship 2019 today (Monday) here at Abdul Sattar Edhi National Hockey Stadium.
Both the winning sides registered contrasting victories against Wapda Colors and Wapda Whites in the semifinals played on Sunday. A private channel will broadcast the final live. Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah will grace the occasion as chief guest.
In the first semifinal, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) routed Wapda-W 3-1. It was respectable crowd present at the venue. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Brig (R) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar graced the occasion as chief guest, while PHF Secretary Olympian Asif Bajwa, chief selector Manzoor Junior, Olympians Hanif Khan, Shahid Ali Khan, former secretary Rana Mujhahid, Khawaja Junaid, Virtual Axis Pakistan CEO Khawaja Ahmed Mustaqeem, SO to PHF President Tariq Mir along with others were also present on the occasion.
The first semifinal got off to slow start, as both NBP and Wapda-W forwards failed to take advantage from the chances, which came their way thick and fast. The first 15 minutes were highly dull, as majority of play was held in the center. The match came into life in the 18th minute, when Attiq Arshad scored the wonderful field goal. NBP took 24 more minutes to score the second goal, as Bilal Qadir scored in the 42nd minute and it was once again Bilal, who ensured a place in the final, when he slammed in his second and NBP’s third goal in the 48th minute. It could have been half dozen goals for NBP, but series of chances were missed by NBP strikers. Wapda-W managed to score a consolation goal in the 58th minute.
The second semifinal was highly entertaining as both SSGC and Wapda displayed world class hockey, which was thoroughly enjoyed by massive crowd. Mainly based on youngsters, both the teams were introduced with the chief guests. Wapda took lead in the 5th minute, when Aleem scored a wonderful field goal, but the lead couldn’t live long as SSGC hero Mubashir Ali equalized the score through a plenty corner in the 15th minute.
The second quarter was also played on high pace, as both teams were pushing forward and trying to score goals, but poor finishing was hurdle between further goals. The second quarter saw both teams having missing short corners while third half started with SSGC changing their strategy and making a few substitutions, which changed the entire complexion of the match. Wapda players were looking tired and weren’t be able to control the ball. SSGC took full advantage of the situation and added one more in 38th minute through Mubashir. Wapda dug-out introduced a number of changes. Entire Wapda forwards along with half backs were trying to level the match, but SSGC played out of their skins and managed to protect their one-goal lead, till the umpires blew the whistle to signal the end of the match. Jubilant supporters and team management rushed to the ground to celebrate victory.