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SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO: Pakistan men’s hockey team continued their difficult debut campaign in the FIH Pro League as they suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat at the hands of Argentina at the Santiago del Estero Hockey Club on Tuesday.
Argentina dominated proceedings from the outset, combining clinical penalty-corner execution with sharp aerial play to register a commanding victory and move to the top of the Pro League standings with 11 points.
Pakistan, meanwhile, slumped to their fourth consecutive loss and remain rooted at the bottom of the table.
Los Leones opened the scoring through Nicolas Della Torre, whose powerful drag flick from a penalty corner took a deflection off Pakistan defender Muhammad Abdullah and wrong-footed goalkeeper Muneeb Ur-Rehman.
Argentina maintained control through midfield and repeatedly exploited space behind Pakistan’s defence with long aerial balls.
One such aerial found Joaquin Toscani, who controlled well before delivering a bouncing ball into the circle for Bautista Capurro to deflect home, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Argentina struck again through Capurro in the second quarter after Maico Casella kept the pressure alive following a failed Pakistani clearance.
Casella found space and slid a pinpoint pass across the goal, allowing Capurro to tap in his second and make it 3-0.
Pakistan showed some resistance early in the third quarter when Waheed Ashraf Rana produced a fine individual effort, driving into the circle and smashing a high shot into the net to briefly cut the deficit.
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished as Argentina responded almost immediately.
Tadeo Marcucci released Tomas Domene with a precise pass, and although Domene’s initial backhand effort was saved, Tobias Martins reacted quickest to slot home the rebound.
Domene then capped an impressive outing by earning and converting a penalty corner with a low drag flick to make it 5-1.
The final quarter remained scoreless, with Argentina comfortably seeing out the contest to claim a convincing three points. Domene was later named Player of the Match for the second consecutive game.
The defeat leaves Pakistan in ninth place, having conceded 20 goals while scoring only eight, resulting in a worrying goal difference of minus 12.
Their campaign began with a 5-2 loss to the defending champions, the Netherlands, followed by a narrow 3-2 defeat to Argentina and a 7-3 loss in a high-scoring rematch against the Dutch.
Pakistan will now turn their attention to the Australia leg of the Pro League in Hobart in February, where they face a stern challenge against the hosts on February 10 and 13, followed by clashes with Germany on February 11 and 14.
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