KOC Greens and Don Bosco’s posing for a photo with Chief Guest, Mr. Agha Saeed.
Khalid Arshad Memorial Hockey Tournament, sponsored by Al Yasra Foods, came to an end in a grand manner. The third place play-off were played between KOC Blues and International Reds, were Blues routed pasted the Reds with a score line of 4-0, with youngest Hasnain Ali bagging a hat-trick. In the finals, Don Bosco took revenge against the host, KOC Greens by winning by a margin of 2-1, and all credit goes to the man in form, Sherwin D’Souza in scoring a brace.
In the third place play-off, KOC Blues faced International Red. With both teams playing some promising brand of hockey in the tournament, it was a game to be looking forward to. The game was totally one sided as Blues scored 3 first half goals as International Red couldn’t handle the swift passing of the Blues. In the second half, the game was played in a relatively slow paced, with Reds struggling to make a comeback. Just before the end of the game, Hasnain Ali bagged his career’s first hat-trick. The other goal was scored by Basil.
In the finals, host KOC Greens faced a much familiar side from the group stages, Don Bosco who gave a tough time in the group stage game. It was ought to be a game of top quality hockey as both sides finished on the top of the table respectively. The match started in the favor of the Greens as in the first 5 mins they took the lead. With a cross into the D-area, Zaheed Nawaz connected but the Don Bosco keeper denied him the opportunity only to let Musthaq for an easy tap in goal. Both teams piled up the pressure on each other. Don Bosco equalized with a splendid move which involved a swift counter attack with Savio Richards assisting the man in form, Sherwin D’Souza. The first half ended up as a 1-1 draw, as the game was played in a high pace.
In the second half, Don Bosco were the much superior side. With tic-tac passing, they were able to find gaps in the Greens defense. In the 7th minute, Sherwin missed a sitter by pushing the ball over the bar. Later in the half, Zaheed made a goal line clearance of Leo. Tired and weary the Greens struggled to keep up the pace. With Saqib Ajmal and Mastan Shaikh, both failing to have an impact on the game, Greens survived in a danger of conceding and Two minutes before full-time, Sherwin netted his 7th goal of the Tournament to stun the Greens in the dying moments of the game. The defense consisting of Iggy and Bruno Trindad made sure the last moments were dealt without any damage. The score stayed up at a 2-1 victory for the much consistent Don Bosco side. The Greens led by mentor Mahmoud Alam, failed to carry their top form into the final.
The chief guest on the occasion was Mr. Agha Saeed, Head Commercial Wing Pakistan Embassy, Kuwait. He was pleased by watching the standard of hockey being played. There were some Individual prizes which were given which are as follow. Best Youngest : Hasnain Ali (KOC Blue), Best Veteran Player : Lawrence Alphonso (International Red), Goal Of the Tournament : Leo (DBO), Best GoalKeeper : Waseem (KOC Green), Best Defender : Bruno Trindad (DBO), Best Midfielder : Mastan Shaikh (KOC Green), Best Striker and Top Goal Scorer : Zaheed Nawaz (KOC Green) and Player of the Tournament : Saqib Ajmal (KOC Green).
KEHA thanks Public Authority for Youth and Sports for exerting efforts to promote the game of hockey in Kuwait. Venue: Bayan Ground.
For further inquiries on Don Bosco Hockey in Kuwait contact us at [email protected] or call 90087579 | 99629727 | 97270532
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