KARACHI: Jadeed Khan Pathan’s hat-trick helped Afghan FC leapfrog to the second spot when they overwhelmed Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 3-1 while National Bank outgunned newly promoted Police 2-1 in matches of the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League held at the Sadiq Shaheed Stadium in Quetta on Thursday, 20 October 2011.
Skipper Jadeed Khan, who has also been called for the Pakistan’s SAFF Cup preparatory camp after being overlooked for the World Cup qualifiers few months back due to poor form, helped Afghan FC beat KPT with a fine treble.
Jadeed put Afghan FC 2-0 ahead with goals in the seventh and tenth minutes. Following a series of counter-attacks KPT pulled one back through Jamaluddin in the 18th minute. At half-time, Afghan FC were leading 2-1.
After the breather, Afghan FC kept their rivals under pressure with incisive rallies and were able to add to their tally when Jadeed capitalised on a combined move in the 71st minute.
The victory took Afghan FC’s points to 38 from 17 games, just three points behind leaders KRL, who are having 41 from 15 appearances.
Meanwhile, in other match at the same venue, National Bank recovered from their 0-1 mauling by Afghan FC the other day to beat Police after a tough fight.
After a barren first half, Faisal Iqbal, also vice-captain of the Pakistan team, opened the scoring for the bankers in the 62nd minute before captain Abdul Aziz doubled their lead in the 78th minute. Police, who had a good first phase, reduced their deficit to 1-2 through Mohammad Ishaq in the 81st minute.
“We could have scored more goals but Ashraf missed a few chances in the first half,” National Bank coach Nasir Ismail told ‘The News’.
National Bank inflated their tally to 34 from 20 meetings while the loss left Police reeling at 15 points from 18 matches.
Today’s fixtures: KESC v Nushki’s Baloch FC (Sadiq Shaheed Stadium, Quetta), PAF v KRL (Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi).