By IANS
Chennai : Pakistan scored a facile 6-1 victory over Hong Kong in the Asia Cup men’s hockey tournament here Friday but the result disappointed team manager Islahuddin.
“My boys are just coming together as a team and learning to jell together. But it still is no excuse to allow at least eight scoring opportunities to slip out of our fingers,” he said after the match.
Pakistan went ahead at the 11th minute through Muhammed Imran’s goal. From then, it was Pakistan all the way with Shakeel Abbasi and Ihsan Ullah completing the tally.
Ali Arif’s lone goal for Hong Kong came in the 46th minute but the Pakistanis quickly counter-attacked.
Throughout the game, the ball was in the possession of the Pakistanis for almost all the time.
But for the hiccup of Arif’s goal, Pakistan were never really stretched and toyed with their opponents.
According to Islahuddin, he “felt a little amiss when the half-time score read 3-0. It actually should have been 9-0! But then, that is the way it is when a team is being built.
“During this tournament, as we progress, you will surely see our boys playing better. All these matches are part of our run up to the Olympics.
“But we are not taking these outings lightly because we want to win each one of them. As I have understood during my playing career, the winning habit is no flash in the pan,” Islahuddin maintained.