Women Hockey Super League: Lahore Lions face Peshawar Deers in final

LAHORE: Holders Lahore Lions will face Peshawar Deers in the final of the 2nd Women Hockey Super League after the conclusion of the league matches at the National Hockey Stadium on Saturday.

The final will be played on Sunday at 11:30 am while the 3rd position play off will see Karachi Dolphins and Quetta Panthers clash before the final at 8:00 am.

Interestingly three teams, Lahore Lions, Peshawar Deers, and Karachi Dolphins, were all in contention for the final before the last day of the league phase with none of them assured of the spot.

First match was between the reigning champions Lahore and last year’s runners up Quetta Panthers. In a hard fought game, Lahore’s Sidra Parvaiz scored in the 18th minute which remained the only goal of the match. Thus Lahore topped the table with 10 points. Lahore Lions defeated Quetta Panthers 1-0

The lone goal of the match from Lahore was scored by Sidra Parvaiz.

The last match of the league stage was between Peshawar Deers and Karachi Dolphins sitting on six and five points respectively. To get into the final, Karachi required a win; for Peshawar a draw would have sufficed. As expected an intense encounter was witnessed.

In the 26th minute, Peshawar’s star forward Maira Sabir put her side ahead. Their lead remained intact when the third quarter ended.

Karachi’s captain Afshan Naureen brought hope for her team when she equalised in the 48th minute. Last 12 minutes saw Karachi desperately looking for the winner while Peshawar defended their castle.

But it remained 1-1 when clock ran out and Peshawar Deers drew Karachi Dolphins one-all. Maira Sabir from Peshawar and Afshan Naureen from Karachi were the scorers.

Points table:

Lahore Lions: 10,

Peshawar Deers: 7,

Karachi Dolphins: 6,

Quetta Panthers: 2,

Islamabad Shaheen: 1.