Pakistan vs Korea: Pakistan defeat Korea 4 – 2 at 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
Pakistan closed out the match against Korea with a resounding 4-2 victory at the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup that took place today at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.
The teams walked back to the dressing rooms at half-time with a level score of 1-1. The second half began with the ball in Korea’s possession. The Koreans searched for the lead in the first ten minutes of the second half but there was no addition to the
scoreboard until the 45th minute mark as Korea received their second penalty corner award. Hyun Hye Sung struck once more and converted Korea’s second penalty corner into a score, securing himself another goal in the match. Korea took the lead at
2-1 in the 46th minute.
Korea led the field with good ball control, not allowing Pakistan to attempt a score. On the other hand, Pakistan was awaiting a potential scoring opportunity in order to equalise the scores.
With ten minutes left on the clock, Pakistan was trailing by one-score, finding it hard to keep up with the pace of the game.
Finally, Pakistan took up ball possession and rushed towards Korea’s defensive side to even the score. A Pakistan striker attempted a shot towards the goal but missed. Immediately, Pakistan received a penalty corner award in the 60th minute that
was attempted by the world-record holder penalty specialist, Sohail Abbas.
On the 61st minute mark, Abbas made a successful hit to goal, past the Korean goal-keeper, levelling the scores at 2-2. In a matter of three minutes, Pakistan was back into action with a tremendous shot played by Haseem Khan, taking the lead to
3-2.
With six minutes left for the match to end, Pakistan team seemed rejuvenated and continued to beat the Korean defence. Resultantly, Pakistan earned its fourth penalty corner in the 69th minute but the attempt was wasted with no score.
The finals minute was fiercely played by Pakistan and the Men in Green did not allow Korea a chance to mount a last minute strike-back. With the clock ticking and only ten seconds left, Waqas Akbar came out into the Korean circle and placed a hit past the
Korean goal-keeper, scoring the fourth goal for Pakistan, 4-2.
The match concluded with Pakistan winning against Korea by two goals in a exciting match.