Jam Stadium (Malir, Karachi) saw the results of two important games of the 2012 Engro Vopak Football League yesterday, 19 Feb 2012. Azam Sports (Drigh Road, DFA East) beat home side Baloch Club Malir 3-1 in Group B, while Young Tughlaq (Lyari) edged past league hosts FC Rovers (Malir Cantt) 2-1 in Group A to earn three precious points.
All four sides completed 3 games each, with Azam Sports and Young Tughlaq on 4 and 6 points respectively, while Baloch Club and Rovers are on 4 and 3 points respectively.
Azam Sports put Baloch FC Malir to the sword as they dominated the opening exchanges through Saleem Ullah, Naveed Ullah, Kamran Boota, and Aqeel Khan. Kamran Boota opened the scoring from a Saleem Ullah pass in 14th minute, before Saleem Ullah made it 2-0 from a Aqeel Khan pass in 37th minute as Azam Sports led 2-0 at half-time.
Saleem Ullah then beat three players to make it 3-0 in 61st minute with his second goal of the game. Baloch FC managed to respond with a goal from Anees Akhtar just 2 minutes later, making it 3-1, but it proved to be too little too late in the end. Baloch FC also lost Fida Hussain for next game due to a second yellow card offence during the match. Saleem Ullah earned the Man of the Match award from Young Tughlaq chairman M Usman Baloch.
After a goal-less first half clash between Young Tughlaq and FC Rovers, the match exploded into life in 2nd period as Abdul Zaheer made 1-0 in 73rd minute, only for Rovers star Irfan Junejo to equalise in 86th minute. The match seemed destined for a 1-1 draw in the end, but Young Tughlaq’s Muhammad Adil pounced on a Rovers’ defensive blunder to score right at the death (90+1′). The goal gave Young Tughlaq a late 2-1 win. FC Rovers’ right-winger Arieb Zaidi earned MOTM award from senior national referee Javed Bangash after the game.
Referees were Habib Ullah, Abdul Malik, Babar Khan, Arif Hameed, and match commissioner Abdul Karim. On Tuesday, 21 Feb 2012, Baloch Mohammadan (Malir) face Burma Mohammadan (Korangi) at 4 PM.