KARACHI: Mohammad Riaz struck a splendid goal to guide Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to a 1-0 victory over formidable Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in their game of the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League that ended on a sad note due to unsporting behaviour of a key player.
As soon the clash ended on the victory of KESC, one of the victorious players pointed his fists towards PAF officials that prompted them to enter into a war of words with him. PAF officials were also joined by their players who accosted the KESC player. KESC officials also intervened and took the player away.
The match commissioner monitored the whole situation and noted the names of the players who were seen using abusive language. He intends sending them to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) for possible action.
Earlier, Hangu-born left-out Riaz struck in the 79th minute through a clinical header from close range to shepherd hosts KESC to their 13th triumph that also took them to 45 points from 21 meetings.
“I always play with spirit and am trying to bring improvement in my game,” Riaz said.
It was a tough game as PAF, carrying mostly young players in their ranks, troubled KESC, who were playing without their injured skipper Mohammad Essa and key midfielder Jalil Ahmed due to double booking.
KESC could have struck in the second minute but Abdul Salam failed to score on rebound when PAF goalie was unable to cleanly gather a pile-driver from Mohammad Rasool.
PAF were close to take the initiative in the first quarter of the second half but Mohammad Mujahid’s drive from the edge of the area just missed the cross bar.
“We needed a win in this game and we got that which is a good sign for our side,” KESC manager Hasan Baloch told ‘The News’.
“PAF were going extremely well and we had lost 0-1 in our away leg against them and we had planned to beat them at any cost and Riaz scored a really beautiful goal to help us grab three crucial points,” Hasan said.
Meanwhile, PAF coach Mohammad Arshad blamed his frontline for the defeat.
“You know our striker Irfan Ali did not click and so was Mujahid. It was an even game but Riaz landed a fine goal that made the difference,” said Arshad, also a former international.
Express Tribune adds:
PAF’s soach Muhammad Arshad blamed poor refereeing for the loss.
“Had we won this match, we would’ve been top of the league,” Arshad told The Express Tribune. “But the referee failed to control the match. Two of my players are injured now. Mansoor Khan, 16, was tackled very roughly and the referee did nothing about it. He has picked up a knee injury now. It’s highly irresponsible of the Pakistan Football Federation to not appoint quality referees. We spend almost Rs 600,000 each season on the team and it’s not fair to lose a match and precious points due to poor refereeing.”
This was the fourth loss for PAF and they stand at 49 points from 25 appearances.
Meanwhile, at the PMC Ground in Faisalabad holders KRL whipped PMC Athletico 4-0 to regain the top spot as they moved to 52 points from 20 matches.
In-form striker Kaleemullah hit a brace, scoring goals in the 23rd and 38th minute while he was joined by Saddam Hussain and Mohammad Adil with their respective strikes in the 28th and 52nd minute.
The loss left PMC struggling at 17 points from 21 appearances.
Nushki’s Baloch FC claimed three crucial points when they got a walkover when their opponents Afghan FC Chaman did not turn up for the showdown scheduled at the Nushki Stadium in Nushki, Balochistan.
The output moved Baloch FC to 25 points from 25 matches while Afghan FC have 29 points from 23 meetings.
At the Railways Stadium, Lahore, Railways defeated Higher Education Commission (HEC) 2-1 in their match of the PFF League (B Division). Asif gave HEC the lead before Railways’ Asif Hameed and Usman replied to give the home side the victory.
The game between Pakistan Steel and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), scheduled at the Fame Ground in Lahore, was postponed due to rain.
9th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012 (9th PPFL-2012)
Match Results (Friday, December 14, 2012)
Match # 181
Baloch FC Vs Afghan FC Chaman @ 14:30 PST @ Noushki Football Stadium, Noushki, Pakistan
(Walkover given in favour of Baloch FC because Afghan FC did not turn up)
Match Commissioner: Muhammad Shafique Cell # 0301-3737814
Match # 182
KESC beat PAF 1:0 @ 14:30 PST @ KPT Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
Scorer KESC: Muhammad Riaz (FW) 1 Goal @ 79 Mnt.
Yellow Card KESC: Muhammad Musa (MF) @ 26 Mnt, Jahangir Khan (GK) @ 61 Mnt and Aurangzeb Junior (MF) @ 70 Mnt.
Yellow Card PAF: Khalid Khan (GK) @ 3 Mnt and Muhammad Mujahid (FW) @ 76 Mnt.
Best Scorer: Muhammad Riaz (FW) of KESC
Best Player: Hayat Ullah (DF) of KESC
Match Commissioner: Abdul Shakoor Baloch Cell # 0321-9299986
Match # 160
KRL beat PMC FC 4:0 @ 14:00 PST @ PMC Football Ground, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Scorer KRL: Kaleem Ullah (FW) 2 Goals @ 23, 38 Mnts, Saddam Hussain (MF) 1 Goal @ 28 Mnt and Muhammad Adil (FW) 1 Goal @ 52 Mnt.
Yellow Card PMC ATH FC: Muhammad Yasir (FW) @ 16 Mnt.
Best Scorer: Kaleem Ullah (FW) of KRL
Best Player: Muhammad Waqas (MF) of PMC FC
Match Commissioner: Mian Abdul Bari Cell # 0300-7890300
9th Pakistan Premier Football League (9th PPFL-2012)
Tomorrow Fixture ( Saturday, December 15, 2012)
(Rest Day)
9th Pakistan Football Federation League-2012(B Division League) (9th PFFL-2012)
(Group of Five Round)
Match Results (Friday, December 14, 2012)
(Department Leg)
Match # 24
Pak Steel Vs SSGC @ 14:15 Hours PST @ Fame Football Ground, Model Town, Lahore, Pakistan
(Match postponed due to rain)
Match Commissioner: Arif Siddiqui Cell # 0300-4452570
Match # 25
Pak Railway beat HEC 2:1 @ 10:30 Hours PST @ Railway Football Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
Scorer Railway: Asif Hameed (FW) 1 Goal @ 36 Mnt and Usman (FW) 1 Goal @
Scorer HEC: Asif (FW) 1 Goal @ 11 Mnt.
Yellow Card Railway: Naveed (MF) @ 56 Mnt and Wajid (MF) @ 90+2 Mnt.
Yellow Card HEC: Usman Iqbal (MF) @ 12 Mnt.
Match Commissioner: Arif Siddiqui Cell # 0300-4452570
9th Pakistan Football Federation League (B Division League) (9th (PFFL-2012)
(Group of Five Round)
Tomorrow Fixture ( Saturday, December 15, 2012)
(Department Leg)
Match # 24 Pak Steel Vs SSGC @ 14:00 Hours PST @ Fame Football Ground, Model Town, Lahore, Pakistan
(Club Leg)
Match # 13 Baloch FC (Quetta) Vs Chand FC (Layyah) @ 11:45 @ Rai Ali Nawaz Football Ground, Sahiwal, Pakistan
Match # 14 Young Blood FC (Sahiwal) Vs Green Star FC (Okara) @ 14:00 Hours @ Rai Ali Nawaz Football Ground, Sahiwal, Pakistan