KARACHI: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) defeated Habib Bank Limited (HBL) 1-0, while former champions Army recorded their 15th victory of the season by out-gunning Baloch FC Nushki, also 1-0, in the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League at different venues on Monday.
Here at the People’s Sports Complex, defender Mohammad Asif scored the winner in the 18th minute to propel PAF to a narrow win over Habib Bank to take their tally to 46 at the third spot from 23 meetings.
“It was a tough game but we were lucky to win,” PAF coach Mohammad Arshad told ‘The News’ after the match. “Our defender Asif scored a splendid goal from 25 yards. Habib Bank had an upper hand for around 25 minutes in the second half, but we made some changes and their rallies were blocked,” said Arshad.
PAF received a blow when their striker Irfan Ali was shown his second yellow card, which means he will miss Wednesday’s clash against National Bank.
“Irfan is our key player and his is a huge loss for us as we have to play a vital game against National Bank on Wednesday,” said Arshad, a former international.
Habib Bank coach Yousuf Khan blamed his strikers for the defeat. “You know we missed several chances. We dominated the game throughout, but luck did not favour us,” said Yousuf.
“PAF got just one chance which they converted while their other shot crashed the post,” Yousuf conceded.
“The goal we conceded was a wonderful drive and it was impossible to stop it,” the coach said.
PAF defender Mohammad Sher was adjudged the best player for playing exceptionally well in the deep.
At the Nushki Stadium in Balochistan, Mubashir Hussain landed a thriller in the dying moments to propel Army to a sensational victory over hosts Baloch FC.
Baloch FC defender Akber Jan earned the best player award.
The output helped Army inflate their tally to 51 points at the summit from 24 matches, while Baloch FC were left struggling at 19 points from 23 meetings.
Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will face Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) on Tuesday (today).
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | D | P | Last 5 matches | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakistan Army | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 32 | 9 | +23 | 51 | W D D W W | ||
| 2 |  |
Muslim | 25 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 35 | 22 | +13 | 47 | W D W W W | |
| 3 |  |
KRL | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 10 | +33 | 46 | W W W W W | |
| 4 | Pakistan Air Force | 23 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 40 | 14 | +26 | 46 | W W D D D | ||
| 5 | Karachi Electric | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 33 | 14 | +19 | 39 | L W W W W | ||
| 6 | National Bank | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 31 | D L L D L | ||
| 7 | |
Afghan FC | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 29 | W D W W W | |
| 8 | |
WAPDA | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 30 | 30 | +0 | 26 | L L D W L | |
| 9 | Pakistan Navy | 23 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 23 | L W L L L | ||
| 10 | Pakistan Airlines | 21 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 21 | L W D L L | ||
| 11 | ZTBL | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 20 | L D L D W | ||
| 12 | |
Karachi Port Trust | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 20 | W L L D L | |
| 13 | |
Baloch | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 35 | -21 | 19 | L W D W W | |
| 14 | |
Habib Bank | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 33 | -20 | 18 | L D L L D | |
| 15 | PMC Athletico | 20 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 21 | -7 | 17 | W L D D L | ||
| 16 | Wohaib | 20 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 8 | 38 | -30 | 8 | L L L L L |
In the PFF League (B Division), Pakistan Railways edged out Pakistan Steel 1-0 at the Railways Stadium with Asif Hameed scoring the lone goal in the 33rd minute.
In the other meeting, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) held Chaman’s Pak Afghan Clearing Agency (PACA) to a 1-1 draw. Rashid gave SSGC the lead in the 18th minute and Abdul Hadi netting the equaliser for PACA in the 41st minute.
Today (Tuesday) will be a rest day for PFF League matches.
9th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012 (9th PPFL-2012)
Match Results (Monday, December 10, 2012)
Match # 177
PAF beat HBL 1:0 @ 14:30 PST @ Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
Scorer PAF: Muhammad Asif (DF) 1 Goal @ 18 Mnt.
Yellow Card HBL: Mubashar (FW) @ 58 Mnt.
Yellow Card PAF: Irfan Ali (FW) @ 80 Mnt.
Best Scorer: Muhammad Asif (DF) of PAF
Best Player: Muhammad Sher (MF) of PAF
Match Commissioner: Ali Nawaz Baloch Cell # 0300-2146038
Match # 178
Army beat Baloch FC 1:0 @ 13:00 PST @ Noushki Football Stadium, Noushki, Pakistan
Scorer Army: Mubashar Hussain (FW) 1Goal @ 89 Mnt.
Yellow Card Army: Ansar Abbas (FW) @ 89 Mnt.
Best Scorer: Mubashar Hussain (FW) of Army
Best Player: Akbar Jan (DF) of Baloch FC
Match Commissioner: Muhammad Shafique Cell # 0301-3737814
9th Pakistan Premier Football League (9th PPFL-2012)
Tomorrow Fixture ( Tuesday, December 11, 2012)
Match # 163 KPT Vs KESC @ 14:30 PST @ KPT Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
9th Pakistan Football Federation League-2012(B Division League) (9th PFFL-2012)
(Group of Five Round)
Match Results (Monday, December 10, 2012)
Match # 20
Pak Railway beat Pak Steel 1:0 @ 12:30 PST @ Railway Football Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
Scorer Railway: Asif Hameed (FW) 1 Goal @ 33 Mnt.
Yellow Card Pak Steel: Tariq Junior (FW) @ 6 Mnt and Muhammad Akmal (DF) @ 28 Mnt.
Yellow Card Railway: Kashif Ali (DF) @ 37 Mnt.
Match Commissioner: Rauf Bari Cell # 0346-4499711
Match # 21
PACA Vs SSGC 1:1 Draw @ 14:00 PST @ Fame Club Ground, Model Town, Lahore, Pakistan
Scorer PACA: Abdul Hadi (FW) 1 Goal @ 41 Mnt.
Scorer SSGC: Muhammad Rashid 1 Goal @ 18 Mnt.
Match Commissioner: Arif Siddiqui Cell #0301-4452570
9th Pakistan Football Federation League (B Division League) (9th (PFFL-2012)
(Group of Five Round)
Tomorrow Fixture ( Tuesday, December 11, 2012)
(Rest Day)