Australia A beat Pakistan 3-1

KARACHI: Pakistan faced another defeat in the four-nation hockey series when Australia A trounced Green-shirts by 3-1 on Sunday.
Pakistan had already lost to the senior Australian team by 6-0 in their first match.
Against Australia A, the Green-shirts played much better as they reduced the goal difference when captain Muhammad Imran scored a goal on a penalty corner.
Pakistan chief selector Islahuddin said the Green-shirts were defeated in the two matches but “it should be realised that Pakistan are preparing for qualifying rounds of Rio Olympics 2016. Besides, the boys are playing international hockey after a long gap,” he told ‘The News’.
He said the Australians were the top ranked side in the world and Pakistan 10th. “So the difference between the two teams is obvious,” he said.
“Everybody knows in what circumstances they have gone to Australia. The tournament started just after two days of their arrival; and the first match was against the strongest team of the world,” he said.
Islah said that people should understand that defeats were part of the game. “Pakistan are to face some toughest competitions in the near future, so we should be patient and give time to boys to settle down and play their natural game,” he said.
Islah said he had contacted chief coach Shahnaz after the two matches and that Shahnaz was not disturbed by the results. “He assured me that after playing two matches Pakistan players had got used to the Australian conditions and Pakistan’s performance against South Korea and New Zealand would be much better,” he said.
The chief selector claimed that there was little difference between the Australian senior side and Australia A. “They have 18 members of senior side and on both occasions they played their best players,” he said.
He said two regular members of the playing eleven, Rizwan Senior and Rashid, did not play in these matches which affected the team’s performance.
“The team management is not focused on winning. Instead it is focusing on trying different combinations in maximum international matches before participating in the qualifying rounds of Olympics, which would be held in June, so that we can identify the strengths and weaknesses of our players,” he said.
Pakistan will play against South Korea on May 5.