Pakistan lose to Britain in quarter-final

ANTWERP/KARACHI: Pakistan lost their quarter-final match of Hockey World League Semi-Finals against Great Britain 2-1 in Antwerp on Wednesday.
A stunning goal from Chris Griffiths coupled with Alastair Brogdon’s effort proved to be enough for victory, edging Great Britain one step closer to achieving qualification for the showpiece Hockey World League Final and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The result sets up a semi-final meeting with Australia, who conquered Ireland earlier in the day, with both teams knowing that a top-three finish comes with a guaranteed ticket to Rio.
Pakistan will now play Ireland in the 5-8 classification positions, with a fifth place finish providing the best possible chance of reaching Rio after the conclusion of the Continental Championships later this year.
Great Britain took the lead in explosive fashion, with Griffiths smashing home a thunderous backhand strike off the crossbar from a seemingly impossible angle before the ever-influential Ashley Jackson provided the perfect cross for Brogdon to double the advantage before the end of the first quarter.
Pakistan rallied hard and created numerous chances, with Ali Shah firing over the crossbar in the second quarter but had to wait until the fourth period to get themselves back into the game. Umar Bhutta was the scorer, finishing the second attempt to set up a frenetic ending to a high-paced encounter.
Muhammad Waqas came closest to grabbing an equaliser, but Great Britain shot-stopper George Pinner stood strong to deny the strike from the right and seal a crucial win for his country.
Pakistan captain Muhammad Imran said: “I think we put all of our efforts into it but we were unlucky we didn’t score with our chances, but we have other games and it is important that we try to finish fifth.”
Pakistan selection committee chairman Islahuddin said that Pakistan’s loss against England was painful. “But England has 5th rank in world hockey and previously we had lost against them by 7-2, and now they defeated us by 2-1. It means that our players are improving their game,” he said.
“We still have a chance to get a berth in Rio Olympics. The situation will become clear in a couple of days,” Islah said.
Great Britain’s captain Barry Middleton said they made it tough in the end. “I think first half we were really good, felt in control and if we had got another goal ahead it would have been hopefully by a few more,” he said.
“Obviously when you are only 2-0 up and playing a team like Pakistan, who commit players forward, they are going to make it tough but I thought we defended really well,” he said.