Navy Are Next: Guangdong Play Their Third Game in Four Days in Islamabad Tonight
Quick correction first, because this keeps going wrong: tonight is Guangdong v Pakistan Navy at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad. Not Customs. Not Lahore. Customs moved to Sunday 25 October at the DHA in Lahore, per the revised schedule the tour has followed all week. One Pakistani outlet is still showing the old September dates, and that’s where the confusion comes from — ignore it.
So. Three games in four days for the visitors, all of it at the same Islamabad ground where they drew 1-1 with the Army on Wednesday. Guangdong took that shoot-out 4-2, which tells you something about their nerve, but the Army also showed they’re gettable: a corner in the third quarter did the damage in normal time. Navy will have watched that tape.
What we know about tonight
Not the pushback time, annoyingly. No source has published one yet — the tour’s schedule release never carried times, and nothing from the PHF has surfaced with one. Both games so far have been evening affairs, so expect something similar, and we’ll update the Live Centre the moment it’s confirmed.
What we do know: Navy come in cold against a Guangdong side that’s now match-hardened. Two hard games in three days can mean tired legs, or it can mean a team that’s found its combinations while the opposition are still introducing themselves. The Army game suggests Guangdong defend a lead well and don’t flinch in shoot-outs. It also suggests they can be opened up from set pieces late on.
A fun detail from Wednesday’s photos, for the kit nerds: Guangdong played in all-black with a red banner across the chest reading “Guangdong Badirui Team”, their keeper in green with red OBO pads. Badirui is the sponsor’s name on the shirt. Small thing, but it tells you this is a proper provincial setup, not a scratch side — which is the point the PHF keeps making about this tour: real international opposition for Pakistan’s departmental sides, a week before the Asian Champions Trophy starts across the border.
The week so far
Mari Energies beat them 5-2 in Rawalpindi on Tuesday night, floodlights on, and Wednesday’s 1-1 with the Army in Islamabad could easily have gone either way. That’s competitive in both directions, which is exactly what a tour like this is for. Navy are the third test. Customs, Rangers, the U-18s and Police follow next week.
Our take
Navy are slight favourites at home, purely on freshness. But Guangdong have now survived a 5-2 defeat and a shoot-out in 72 hours and they’re still standing — that counts for more than tired legs cost. If Navy score early, the visitors’ week gets very long. If Guangdong get to half-time level, the pressure flips entirely. Either way, tonight tells us whether this tour is competitive or just busy.
The tour so far: the Army shoot-out, Mari Energies 5-2, the revised tour dates, and the Live Centre.
