KARACHI: Former champions Army and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) recorded identical 2-0 wins over Lahore’s Wohaib Club and four-time champions WAPDA, respectively, in matches of the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League 2012 at Lahore on Saturday, 29 September 2012.
Army defeated Wohaib Club 2-0 at the Fame FC Ground in Model Town, Lahore. Ansar Abbas emerged as the top performer for the soldiers who scored a brace with strikes in 37th and 56th minutes.
Army manager Major Shafqat said his team were going well. “We lost two games initially because we could not get matches against weak oppositions and were brought directly against KRL who had already had a couple of matches against the weak sides of PAF and ZTBL,” Shafqat said.
“If we had been given a couple of easy games in the beginning that could have provided ample practice to our players who were out of touch and we could have been in a much better position by now,” Shafqat added. “Wohaib Club’s owner Hafiz Salman Butt took us to a ground with small width and that created problems for us but we still beat the hosts,” he pointed out.
“I have introduced quite a few new players in the season and I am confident that as the time progresses our team will get better and it would be very difficult for the opponents to beat us,” he said.
“Skipper Jaffar Khan is in great touch as a keeper and it’s a very good sign for us,” the official said.
The win took Army to 11 points from seven games, while Wohaib Club are reeling at two points from six appearances.
At the Railways Stadium in Lahore, WAPDA conceded their first game as they were stunned by PAF with Irfan Ali and Mujahid Ali scoring for the winners in 24th and 82nd minutes. PAF coach Mohammad Arshad was happy with the outcome. “We outclassed WAPDA today,” Arshad told this correspondent.
“We were right in control with over 80 percent ball possession and I am happy that our conversion rate was relatively better although we missed a couple of open net chances,” added Arshad, a former international.
“We have inducted five new players. Although we lack consistency I believe that the results would be productive in the coming days as the players have gelled well. We have been given our remaining 13 home matches at our own pitch of the PAF Sports Complex in Peshawar where we would like to have hundred percent results,” Arshad said.
Like the last season the country’s strongest club, WAPDA, with hundreds of players at their disposal, seem to be struggling.
Former coach Khalid Butt had turned WAPDA into an unbeatable side but since he was removed from his post as head coach last season, mainly due to internal politics, the team have been largely failing.
The victory took PAF to 11 points from eight games. WAPDA also have 11 points from six matches.
Today’s fixture: PIA v HBL (Korangi Baloch Football Ground, Sharafi Goth, Karachi).
9th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012(9th PPFL-2012)
Match Results (Saturday, September 29, 2012)
Match # 62
PAF beat WAPDA 2:0 @ 1600 PST @ Railway Football Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
Scorer PAF: Irfan Ali (FW) 1 Goal @ 24 Mnt and Mujahid (FW) 1 Goal @ 82 Mnt.
Yellow Card PAF: Bilal (DF) @ 65 Mnt, Mujahid (FW) @ 75 Mnt and Junaid (DF) @ 81 Mnt.
Yellow Card WAPDA: Usman (DF) @ 52 Mnt.
Best Player: Muhammad Asif (DF) of PAF
Match Commissioner: Rasheed Mahmood Butt Cell # 0333-4349648
Match # 64
Army beat Wohaib FC 2:0 @ 15:30 PST @ Fame Football Ground, Model Town, Lahore, Pakistan
Scorer Army: Ansar Abbas (FW) 2 Goals @ 37, 56
Yellow Card Army: Imran Hussain (MF) @ 31 and Ikraam (FW) @ 82 Mnt.
Yellow Card Wohaib FC: Naeem (MF) @ 25 Mnt.
Best Player: Ansar Abbas (FW) of Army
Best Scorer: Ansar Abbas (FW) of Army
Match Commissioner: Naseem-ud-Din Cell # 0311-7198583
Tomorrow 9th PPFL-2012 Fixture :(Sunday, September 30, 2012)
Match # 64 PIA Vs HBL @ 1600 PST @ Korangi Baloch Ground, Karachi, Pakistan
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | D | P | Last 5 matches | H2H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karachi Electric | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 2 | +16 | 21 | D W W W W | ||
| 2 | National Bank | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 18 | W D D W W | ||
| 3 | KRL | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 14 | D D W W W | ||
| 4 | Muslim | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 14 | L D D W W | ||
| 5 | Pakistan Navy | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 13 | D W D L D | ||
| 6 |  |
WAPDA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 11 | D W D W W | |
| 7 |  |
Pakistan Airlines | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 11 | W L W D D | |
| 8 | |
Karachi Port Trust | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 11 | W D W D L | |
| 9 | Pakistan Army | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 8 | D W W D L | ||
| 10 | |
Pakistan Air Force | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 8 | W D L D L | |
| 11 | |
Baloch | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 7 | L D D L L | |
| 12 | |
Habib Bank | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 11 | -7 | 5 | D D L L D | |
| 13 | |
PMC Athletico | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 4 | D D D D L | |
| 14 | |
Afghan | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 4 | L L L W L | |
| 15 | ZTBL | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 4 | D D L D D | ||
| 16 | Wohaib | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 2 | L D L D L |