Pakistan beat Oman 8-3 but not before going through a huge lean patch where Oman team gave them a run for their money. At one stage, for duration of good 10m Oman led 2-1. The public and the officials present at the Al Rayyan Hockey Stadium were wondering what’s in store in this otherwise widely believed as a one-sided match.

When Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan Sr. sounded the board in the second minute of the game, it sounded casual – the flood gates will open soon.

However, it never seemed to come about. Pakistan struggled and forget scoring, their misery increased when Basim Rajab of Oman pulled one back on Field Goal making it 1-1. As to rub salts on the wounds of Pakistan, Oman converted a penalty corner in 20th minute to make the score board look unbelievably read 2-1, in their favor.

It took Pakistan very long ten minutes to get back into the game. Only in the 30th minute, Muhammad Waqas brought back some cheers to the Pakistan bench making it 2-2. This just avoided the embarrassment for them as they went into the lemon break with the same score.

Oman’s defense looked tight and unrelenting. They relied only on counter-attacks and were quite convincing on the few ones they generated.

The second half brought a small cheer to them when a foul against Waqas got Shakeel Abbasi a penalty stroke. No mistakes here and Pakistan went up 3-2, with a loud cheer from the very few spectators in the stands.

Thereafter, Pakistan miseries of poor-finishing, trapping, bad-coordination continued.

Pakistan forwards –Mohammad Irfan, Rizwan Sr., Shakeel Abbasi — failed to find their rhythm, kept losing the ball possession to some really good tackles and the penalty corner specialist Muhammad Imran failed to convert a few times. To top it all, Oman’s goalkeeper cum goalkeeper, Abdul Jabar Al-Balushi, presented his much above average acrobatic skills and denied Pakistan many a chances.

It took them another twelve long minute to increase their one goal lead. In the 51st minute, Abdul Haseem Khan scored a stunner on reverse stick, from the top of the circle, and made it 4-2.

Only after this goal, Oman’s defense started breaking up. Goals started flowing freely for Pakistan and the same defenders who were convincingly blocking the Pakistan forwards started cracking up and gave more space to the opponents to swing that stick.

So, what’s was the reason for such a rusty show from Pakistan?

Expectedly the coach, Akhtar Rasool, didn’t look visibly impressed and instead of paying emphasis on the 8-3 victory for Pakistan, spent time talking about how badly Pakistan fared in the first half because of the long time they took to adjust to the ‘bumpy’ pitch. Quite fittingly, he had words of praise for Oman, “I am very happy see the fighting spirit from Oman. They showed a lot of promise.”

And although the coach covered up saying that the first half was the settling time for the team, he, possibly, didn’t realize that it was only in the last 19 minutes, Pakistan forward took control of the match and scored 5 goals to seal Oman’s fate. Before that, it looked like anyone’s game.

All teams have complained about the bouncy pitch but it is fairly apparent that Pakistan’s rather ‘long’ adjustment time to the same, is the reason for the ‘wrinkles’ of Akhtar Rasool Chaudhary’s forehead.

Oman’s coach, Ponacha, was extremely happy and rated his team’s performance 7/10. That is a very high rating for a team that has lost by a margin of 5 goals. But alas, his rating and Chaudhary’s worries are aptly reflective of what happened on the field today.

The statistical details:
Pakistan Vs Oman (8-3)

Pakistan, 2nd min, Md. Rizwan Sr. 1-0 FG

Oman, 14th min, Basim Rajab, 1-1 FG

Oman, 20th min, Hoobias Bait Jandal 2-1 PC

Pakistan, 30th min, Muhammad Waqas, 2-2 FG

Pakistan, 39th min, Shakeel Abbasi, 3-2 PS

Pakistan, 51th min, Abdul Haseem Khan, 4-2 FG

Pakistan, 54th min, Imran Mohammad, 5-2, PC

Oman, 57th min, Basim Rajab, 5-3 PC

Pakistan, 61st min, Shakeel Abbasi, 6-3, PC

Pakistan, 63rd min, Muhammad Waqas, 7-3, FG

Pakistan, 68th min, Shakeel Abbasi, 8-3, FG