Pakistan elbowed out host Malaysia out of the race for the final of Sultan of Johor Cup Junior Hockey Tournament after registering 2-0 triumph on Thursday in Johor Bahru. After bagging their first triumph in the tournament out of the four matches it has played, Pakistan still have a narrow chance to make it to the Sunday's final, provided that they win their Saturday's match against Germany and Australia concedes defeat in their last match against New Zealand.
India has already qualified for the final. Meanwhile, it had also been a must-win situation for Malaysia to stay in contention for the final. However, the players in the green-shirts proved a better side on the day, dominating the match by keeping the possession and tempting Malaysians to attack. Pakistan mostly relied on counter-attacks, which worked for them.
Muhammad Dilber opened scoring in the 21st minute for Pakistan and another goal by Muhammad Irfan in the 39th minute put the visitors 2-0 up, which they maintained till the end of the match. Pakistan has drawn two of its previous matches and with the win against Malaysia, Pakistan now stands at fourth place with five points. India leads the table with 10 points followed by Germany and Australia at second and third place respectively.
If Pakistan wins against Germany, it will then be able to accumulate eight points. Meanwhile, if Australia loses its match to New Zealand, then Pakistan will jump to second spot and therefore a place in the final. But the chances are slender for the green-shirts as Germany has a better team than Pakistan and Australia has much better side than New Zealand in spite featuring a second string team.
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