Holland hand Pakistan second defeat

Penalty-corner ace Bram Lomans got his act correct when it mattered most. He fired in two goals as the Netherlands beat Pakistan 2-1 in a crucial Pool A match in the men's hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

The victory took the Dutch to the top of the pool with four wins and a draw and virtually ended Pakistan chances of making it to the last four.

The defeat was the second successive one for Pakistan after losing to Argentina. They have three wins from five matches.

Lomans was the Netherlands' hero, scoring first from a penalty-corner and then from a penalty-stroke, unlike his Pakistani counterpart Sohail Abbas, who was unable to find the mark even one from four penalty-corner attempts.

Pakistan made a bright start, forcing two penalty-corners within eight minutes. But their best chance to get an early lead was frittered away by Kashif Jawad in the seventh minute when he missed a sitter after going past Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogels. The four-time champions continued dominate, but it was the Dutch who took the lead with virtually their first chance in the 19th minute. Their first penalty-corner resulted in a second, from which Lomans made no mistake.

The Pakistanis continued to apply pressure for the rest of the first half but could not find an answer to the early goal.

After the break, Lomans converted a penalty-stroke, which was awarded after Muhammad Usman blocked Jaap Derk Buma in the circle.

The Pakistanis managed to pull a goal back through Khalid Saleem in the 55th minute but try as they did could not snatch the equalizer.

Pakistan meet Spain on March 3 and Germany on March 5.

Mail Sports Editor