KARACHI: Pakistan Under-22 football team received a major blow when they were held to a goalless draw by Vietnam Under-19 team in their Group A opener of the Al-Nakba International Football Tournament at the Majed Asad Stadium in Palestine on Wednesday.

No contact could be made with the Pakistan team officials over phone due to poor telecommunication network. But a team official told ‘The News’ through a message that the match ended in a goalless draw.

“Pakistan should have won the game,” Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) secretary Col Ahmad Yar Khan Lodhi told ‘The News’.

The draw against Vietnam has made the situation difficult for the Greenshirts as they opened their account with one point and now will need a win against hosts Palestine in their last game on May 18 to qualify for the semifinals.

Palestine are in stronger position as they only need a draw to make it to the last four, having beaten Vietnam 2-0 in their first match.

However, if Pakistan notches off a draw against Palestine, then they will fight for a slot in the top four as the best second placed team, which looks difficult considering the fact that Palestine are fielding their senior team and will also have home advantage.

Pakistan have always faced problems in finishing and a message of an official to this correspondent indicated that the team once again failed to put up an improved show in that area although majority of the players in Pakistan Under-22 team have played for the senior team.

The draw is disappointing also because the boys had a two-week tour of Thailand last month. Besides, nine of the players got ample practice during the AFC President’s Cup in Lahore in the second week of this month while representing KRL.

Former Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi said that Zavisa usually plays safe and defensive game. “I think Zavisa Milosavljevic does not have an attacking mind and usually plays defensive and with packed defence. He does not want to lose the match in any way,” Tariq told this correspondent.

“We would not be able to run our football with this pattern for long. If you play so safe, then in tough competitions like the Asian Cup Qualifiers in which strong teams will be taking on Pakistan there will be many problems,” said Tariq, who was replaced by Zavisa last year as a coach.

Vietnamese are good, he said, but they were playing with their Under-19 team and Pakistan should have beaten them.

Tariq said that Pakistan could face more problems against Palestine in their last game. “In the last game, Pakistan could again face problems as Palestine will have home advantage,” Tariq said. Meanwhile, in a Group B game, Iraqi Kurdistan inflicted a 3-1 crushing defeat on Mauritania.

Team officials have been unhappy with the attitude of the country’s football governing body.

“I would like a clear explanation as to why we have not received our prize money for the Pakistan Premier League,” said KESC Sports Manager Mohammad Zabe Khan in a message on Wednesday. “It has been over five months now. What is the justification for holding this money for so long? I am sick and tired of hearing excuses from the PFF.”

An official of another departmental team said that it was not the proper way to run football in the country. “The PFF makes publicity while making an increase in the match bonuses but when they are to make payment to the teams they make excuses,” he said.

“The PFF should give us a clear date of payment and should pay on that day as we are going to take part in the next league which is expected to be kicked off after Ramadan,” another team official said.

From: The News

Pakistan's fellow group members Sri Lanka were switched to replace Uzbekistan as a result, and this caused cancellation of the initial Pakistan vs Sri Lanka game that was supposed to be held yesterday, 14 May 2012. Pakistan now face hosts Palestine and then Vietnam in the revised fixture list as shown.

The under-22 team, composed of nine KRL players, is touring Palestine for the first time but Milosavljevic was more worried over the players’ failure to find the net after the club registered two draws in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President’s Cup matches.

According to Milosavljevic, the squad, which is led by national champions KRL captain Kaleemullah, is still in the process of finding its strengths and improve its finishing.

“This team has nine players from the KRL side,” Milosavljevic told The Express Tribune. “KRL failed to score in the President’s Cup and as far as the matches in Palestine are concerned I am hoping that they would learn and grow with each one. The team’s finishing is still weak. We’ve been going through tactics but we can’t win without scoring.”

Pakistan are placed in Group B and will play their second match against Palestine on May 16 before taking on Vietnam. For Milosavljevic yet again, the tournament is part of preparation for the AFC Under-22 Championship qualifiers that will take place next month in Saudi Arabia.

“The important thing is that players get the idea of conditions which will be similar to those in Saudi Arabia. I’m looking at it as preparation for the qualifiers. It will be good practice.” The Palestinian side toured Pakistan last year, playing two matches in Lahore and Karachi. The tourists prevailed in the first game before a goal-less draw in the second.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2012.

PFF Media Cell adds:

The Second Palestine International Tournament

“From Nakba to Statehood”

Second Edition

May 13-24, 2012

(Al Nakba International Football Tournament-2012, Palestine)

The draw and Matches Schedule with Kick off time

(Palestine Standard Time)

Teams Division According to the Draw

Tournament Table and Playgrounds

Note: The Palestine standard Time is two hours behind Pakistan Standard Time

In the last match of Group A played on Saturday at the Punjab Stadium Lahore, KRL managed a fighting goal less draw against defending champions Taiwan Power Company to sneak through the finals with two points from as many matches.

In overall, KRL did not score and did not concede in the two matches they were involved as the group featured only three clubs with Bangladesh champions Dhanmundi opted to withdraw from the tournament.

Mongolian debutant Erchim FC, despite earning a point in their debut match at the President’s Cup are out of the competitions.

Taiwan Power Company and KRL qualified from Group A while Dordoi Dynamo of Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown FC are qualified from Group B. Tajikistan’s Istiklol and Palestine debutant Al Amma’ri Youth Club make up the six allotted berth for the September finals from Group C.

Group A

• Matches played in Pakistan (host club: KRL).
• Times listed are UTC+05:00.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Taiwan Power Company	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4
KRL	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Erchim	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1

• Sheikh Jamal withdrew,^[10] citing security concern of playing in Pakistan.^[11]

8 May 2012 20:00	KRL	0 – 0	Erchim	Punjab Stadium, Lahore Attendance: 500 Referee: Wang Di (China P.R.)
		Report

10 May 2012 20:00	Erchim	0 – 1	Taiwan Power Company	Punjab Stadium, Lahore Referee: Nivon Robesh (Sri Lanka)
			Chen Yi-wei  90+3'

12 May 2012 20:00	KRL	0 – 0	Taiwan Power Company	Punjab Stadium, Lahore Attendance: 500 Referee: Masoud Tufaylieh (Syria)
		Report

KARACHI: Pakistan Under-22 football team was scheduled to leave for Palestine in the wee hours of Sunday (today) to feature in the Al-Nakba International Football tournament to be held at different venues there from May 13-24.

The 22-member team will be led by KRL striker Kaleemullah while NBP's Faisal Iqbal will serve as his deputy.

Pakistan coach Zavisa Milosavljevic is confident that his team is capable enough to spring surprise. “Although I cannot predict what performance we will be able to produce in the tournament I believe that our team is good enough to spring surprise,” Zavisa told ‘The News’ on Saturday. “We could not practise hard due to short time and nine of our players were playing for KRL at the AFC President’s Cup. We mostly focused on technical and tactical aspects as the team is still passing through the preparatory phase ahead of the Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held in June-July in Saudi Arabia,” the coach said.

He added that the Palestine tour would definitely help the team learn before its major target in Saudi Arabia. “You know, such international events are absolutely necessary for preparing the team for any major cause and I hope that in Palestine we will face different teams of diverse strength which will help the side prepare for Asian Cup Qualifiers,” he said.

He said that after the Palestine tour, the players would be given three or four days’ rest and then the final camp would be held in Lahore, which would continue till the team’s departure for Saudi Arabia.

The event in Palestine will be held under round robin system and the top team from each group and the best second-placed side from the three groups will make it to the semifinals to be held on May 21. The final will be conducted on May 23.

The matches will be held at the Faisal Husseini Stadium, Alram, Nablus Municipal Stadium, Nablus, Majed Asad Stadium, Albireh, Alhussein Ben Ali Stadium, Hebron, and Dura Stadium, Dura.

Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in their opener on May 14 at the Faisal Husseini Stadium, Palestine at Dura Stadium on May 16 and Vietnam at the Majed Asad Stadium on May 18.

Squad: Saqib Hanif, Muzammil Hussain, Tanvir Mumtaz, Manzoor Ahmad, Faisal Iqbal, Naveed Ahmad, Mohammad Usman, Ihsanullah, Saddam Hussain, Mohammad Aadil, Sheram Babar, Kaleemullah, Mehmood Khan, Sher Muhammad, Junaid Qadir, Bilawal-ur-Rehman, Imran Ali Khan, Afzal Salam, Mohammad bin Younis, Zakir Lashari, Usama Halim, Aamir Siddiqui. Reserves: Mohsin Ali.

Officials: Zavisa Milosavljevic (head coach/manager), Nasir Ismail (assistant coach), Aslam Khan (goalkeeping coach), Dr Kamran Mehdi (physiotherapist), Saeed Khan (Chief-de-Mission, former IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

The Haq Parast U16 Football Tournament 2012, hosted by Young Muslim FC (Orangi) at their home ground in Orangi #5 Karachi, saw Karachi United Academy beat Usama Sports (Shah Faisal Colony) 2-1 in 1st semi-final to reach the 13 May final.

Ali Raza scored both goals for Karachi United Academy in their win while Umair scored Usama Sports lone goal in the 1st semi-final. Karachi United Academy now face the winner the 2nd semi-final between Frontier City and hosts Young Muslim in the final.

Previous round results saw Usama Sports beat Subhani Sports 3-1, Young Muslim Academy beat Izhar Khan Academy 3-0, and Karachi United Academy beat Faqir Mohammadan 4-0 to qualify for the semis.

KARACHI: Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) will be aiming to notch off at least a draw which will help them qualify for the final round when they face Chinese Taipei’s Taiwan Power Company in their Group A do-or-die battle of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President’s Cup at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore on Saturday (today).

The match starts at 8:00 pm and will be broadcast live on PTV Sports.

KRL, who were held by Mongolia’s Erchim FC to a goalless draw in their opener earlier in the week, have got a golden opportunity to make a cut for the six-team finals after Taiwan Power Company beat Erchim FC 1-0 on Thursday to qualify for the final round. Both Erchim FC and KRL share one point each and if KRL are able to pull off a draw tomorrow then they would complete the galaxy of six teams to compete in the September finals.

KRL, who surprisingly missed numerous chances against Erchim FC, need a disciplined performance from their frontline against the defending champions.

But coach Tariq Lutfi is confident that his team would perform better against Taiwan Power Company. “The team did not click against Erchim FC as several easy chances were squandered, but we have worked a lot on the boys and they have been motivated and I am optimistic that they will perform better against Chinese Taipei’s outfit,” Lutfi told ‘The News’ on Friday.

Tariq wants from his players a mature approach towards the game. “We have a balanced side but the players need to play in a mature way and it will be very well if we are able to defeat the defending champions as it will boost the confidence of the boys and a sort of self belief will be created in them which will help them in the next round,” added Tariq, also a former Pakistan coach.

He believes that after having confirmed their berth in the final round, Taiwan Power Company will play against KRL an open game.

“After confirming their place in the finals, our rivals will definitely play open game against us. This could provide us chances to strike against them,” the coach pointed out. But Tariq was quick to add that his side would look to play safely. “As we have a better chance to move ahead we will try not to take too much risk and will play safe and in the meantime if we are able to get chances we will try to convert them,” he said.

However, key striker Kaleemullah’s poor form worries the coach. “Kaleem is our main striker but he is not performing according to his potential. We need him to click,” he said.

After his boys failed to avail themselves of a few chances in their opener, Tariq will be looking to change the positions of some players. “Yes, I plan to change the positions of one or two players. Besides, we have a few good players in the reserves who could be used,” the coach said.

Two-time champions Dordoi Dynamo Bishkek from Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown FC have qualified from Group B, while Tajikistan’s champions Istiklal FC and Al Ammari Youth Club from Palestine have moved into the final round from Group C.

Erchim FC were on course in earning a deserved point as Taiwan Power Company failed to break the strong Erchim defence that resisted the former champions until the 93rd minutes of the match that ultimately let in the defending winners.

A mix-up between Erchim's impressive goalkeeper Ariunbold Batsaikhan and his defence allowed Yi Wei Chen to pounce and score for the defending champs Taipower just before the end.

Despite being at the foot of the Group A table and finishing all their matches of the campaign, Erchim still have a slim hope of qualifying for the finals as hosts KRL are playing against Taiwan Power Company on Saturday’s last match of the group on 12 May.

A win of more than two goals for Taiwan Power Company will ensure a passage for Erchim while anything less than that will help the hosts KRL go to the September finals.

Group A

• Matches played in Pakistan (host club: KRL).
• Times listed are UTC+05:00.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Taiwan Power Company	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	3
KRL	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Erchim	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1

8 May 2012 20:00	KRL	0 – 0	Erchim	Punjab Stadium, Lahore Attendance: 500 Referee: Wang Di (China P.R.)
		Report

10 May 2012 20:00	Erchim	0 – 1	Taiwan Power Company	Punjab Stadium, Lahore

12 May 2012 20:00	KRL	v	Taiwan Power Company	Punjab Stadium, Lahore

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Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Iraq/Kurdistan have been adjusted in Group B while Tunisia, Jordon and Mauritania have been bracketed in Group C.

Pakistan are sending their Under-22 team for the competitions in order to prepare it for the Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held in Saudi Arabia from June 23 to July 3.

The event will be held under round robin system and a leading team from each group and the best second placed side from the three groups will make it to the semifinals to be held on May 21. The final will be played on May 23.

This is the second time that the PFA is organising the event with the assistance of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The matches will be held at the Faisal Husseini Stadium, Alram, Nablus Municipal Stadium, Nablus, Majed Asad Stadium, Albireh, Alhussein Ben Ali Stadium, Hebron, and Dura Stadium, Dura.

Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in their opener on May 14 at Faisal Husseini Stadium. Before this match, the opening game of the ten-team affair will be conducted at the same venue between hosts Palestine and Vietnam.

Pakistan will be pitted against Palestine at Dura Stadium on May 16, followed by their last group game against Vietnam at the Majed Asad Stadium on May 18.

The first edition of the tournament was held in May 2011 which was graced by the world football governing body (FIFA) president Sepp Blatter. Sixteen teams had shown their in that event, which was won by the Bulgarian’s Tshevell after beating Jerusalemite Hilal in the final.

This year the tournament was elevated to international level as national teams are taking part under the motto “Palestine from Nakba to Statehood”.

Prince Ali Ben Alhussein, vice-president of FIFA, will also grace the occasion.

A 23-member Pakistan team will proceed to Palestine in the early hours of Sunday next via Abu Dhabi and after landing in Jordon they will move to Palestine by road.

Pakistani boys are currently undergoing training at the City School Ground in Lahore under the watch of Serbian coach Zavisa Milosavljevic. He is being assisted by Nasir Ismail and Aslam Khan.

Fixtures: Group A: May 14: Palestine v Vietnam, Pakistan v Sri Lanka (Faisal Husseini Stadium), May 16: Pakistan v Palestine (Dura Stadium), Vietnam v Sri Lanka (Nablus), May 18: Palestine v Sri Lanka (Hebron), Pakistan v Vietnam (Majed Asad),

Group B: May 15: Iraq-Kurdistan v Uzbekistan (Hebron), May 17: Uzbekistan v Indonesia (Nablus), May 19: Indonesia v Kurdistan/Iraq (Dura),

Group C: May 15: Tunisia v Mauritania (Nablus), May 17: Jordon v Mauritania (Majed Asad Stadium), May 19: Tunisia v Jordon (Faisal Husseini Stadium),

Semifinals: May 21 at Hebron and Faisal Husseini Stadium,

May 23: Final and 3rd place play-off at Dura Stadium.

From: The News