KARACHI: National Bank jumped to the top spot when they got a walkover against Navy who failed to turn up, while Karachi Port Trust (KPT) held Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to a 1-1 draw in the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League 2012 here on Monday, 17 Sept 2012.
“At 9:30am, a Navy official told me on phone that the security situation was not good in the city and therefore their match against National Bank should be cancelled. I told him that I don’t have any power to cancel the game in such a situation and advised him to ask PFF,” match commissioner Shakoor Baloch told ‘The News’ on Monday.
“They then requested PFF that their match should be cancelled, postponed or shifted to the Navy’s ground in Karsaz. The PFF then consulted me and I apprised the federation of the whole situation. I myself travelled to Baloch Colony and other parts of the city but did not see any violence. Only the American Embassy Road was blocked but there were other routes through which Navy could have reached the venue,” the match commissioner said.
The PFF then told him to go for the game as per the rules. “I was at the venue at 2pm and sent a message to one of the Navy’s officials that the kick-off time will be 4:00pm. I then gave them 15 minutes extension twice and when they did not reach the venue I awarded a walkover in favour of National Bank,” said Shakoor.
With the three points gained thus, National Bank are now on the top spot with 13 points from seven matches. Defending champions KRL also have 13 points from five matches but their goal-average is lower.
“The luck started working and it’s a good thing for us,” National Bank coach Nasir Ismail told this correspondent. “We have a mixture of young blood and experienced campaigners and I hope if the players played according to a plan we have a good chance to finish at a decent position in the end,” said Nasir, also the assistant coach of Pakistan.
The draw at the People’s Sports Complex takes KPT to four points from six appearances. Asim Mansoor put Habib Bank ahead in the 24th minute. But KPT, who have not been impressive in the season so far, managed to bring an equaliser through their key striker Mohammad bin Younis in the 81st minute.
HBL moved to three points from five games.
Today’s fixtures:
Wohaib FC v PMC Athletico (UMT Ground, Lahore), KRL v ZTBL (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi), PIA v Baloch FC Nushki (Korangi Baloch Ground, Karachi), KESC v Muslim FC Chaman (KPT Stadium, Karachi).
From: The News
9th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012(9th PPFL-2012)
Match Result (Monday, September 17, 2012)
Match # 32
Navy Vs NBP @ 1600 PST @ KPT Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
(Walkover in favour of NBP)
Match Commissioner: Abdul Shakoor Baloch Cell # 0321-9299986
Match # 33
HBL Vs KPT 1:1 Draw @ 1600 PST @ Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
Scorer HBL: Asim Mansoor (FW) 1 Goal @ 24 Mnt.
Scorer KPT: Muhammad (FW) 1 Goal @ 81 Mnt.
Best Player: Sajid Hussain (Goalkeeper) of HBL
Yellow Card HBL: Ghaznafer Abbas (DF) @ 24 Mnt and Zubair Ahmed (DF) @ 61 Mnt.
Match Commissioner: Ali Nawaz Baloch Cell # 0300-2146038
Tomorrow 9th PPFL-2012 Fixture :( Tuesday, September 18, 2012)
Match # 34 Wohaib FC Vs PMC Athletico @ 1600 PST @ UMT Football Ground, Lahore
Match # 35 KRL Vs ZTBL @ 1600 PST @ KRL Football Stadium, Rawalpindi
Match # 36 PIA Vs Baloch FC Nushki @ 1600 PST @ Korangi Baloch Ground, Karachi
Match # 37 KESC Vs Muslim FC Chaman @ 1600 PST @ KPT Football Stadium, Karachi