![PFF Tigers, NBP win in Challenge Football Cup [The Nation]](https://footballpakistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/NBP-in-NFCC-2019.jpg "PFF Tigers, NBP win in Challenge Football Cup [The Nation]")
PESHAWAR – PFF Tigers and NBP registered victories against their respective rivals in the ongoing 28th PFF National Challenge Football Cup here at Tehmas Khan Football Stadium on Wednesday.
In the first match of the day’s proceedings PFF Tigers upset Pakistan Police by 2-0. After the goal-less first-half PFF Tigers took the lead in the 64th minute when right winger Ali Raza slammed in a beautiful goal on the field attempt. It was an excellent left winger Sajid cross toward right Winger Ali Raza who dodged two defenders before dispatching the ball into the goal-post to make the tally 1-0.
After taking lead, PFF Tiger kept up pressure and succeeded in doubling the lead through another promising forward Imran Hussain. Unmarked Imran was in front of the goal-post and when he got a cross send in right winger Ali Raza and he did nothing wrong in making the tally 2-0. Police tried their hard to reduce the margin but they were failed.
In the second match NBP edged past Asia Gee Mills by 2-1. NBP took the lead in the 20th minute when center striker Maqsood slammed in a beautiful goal on the field attempt but after a 10-minute Asia Gee Mills succeeded in leveling the tally 1-1 when right winger Muhammad Asim scored the equalizer.
At the end of the first session, both the teams were locked 1-1. It was the second session in which NBP dominated the proceedings and center striker Sher Ali made it 2-1 through field goal conversion. Asia Gee Mills tried their hard to level the tally 2-2 but failed and thus NBP won the match by 2-1.
Former International Footballer Zahir Ul Khair and Secretary Peshawar District Football Association Haji Hidayat Ullah Khan graced the occasion as guests.Before the start of the matches, the players of PFF Tigers, Pakistan Police, NBP and Asia Gee Mills, Bahawalpur were introduced to the guests. In his brief speech, Zahid Ul Khair, who played for NBP, lauded PFF for holding the National Challenge Football Cup in which all the top departmental teams were taking part.
He said it was good to see the PFF Tigers team part of the Cup in which players out of the recently held City Football League selected purely on merit. Providing due opportunities to the upcoming talent of football would help in promoting the game across the country. He lauded the PFF for holding the national football event with floodlight facilities in Tehmas Khan Football Stadium for the very first time in Peshawar’s history.
Published in The Nation, 25 July 2019
The News adds:
KARACHI: Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), the most successful team of Pakistan’s domestic football, blasted their way into the quarter-finals when they whipped Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 5-0 in their second round Group D outing of the National Football Challenge Cup at the Tehmas Khan Stadium Peshawar on Wednesday.
KRL, six-time champions of National Challenge Cup, went ahead in the 17th minute through Arsalan Ali’s fine effort.
Izharullah doubled their lead in the 29th minute before Iftikhar Ali landed the third for them in the 39th minute.
Mohammad Imran and Umair Ali took them to 5-0 lead, the former striking in the 65th minute and the latter in the 83rd minute.
This was the second successive win from Rawalpindi-based KRL who now have six points with a game yet in hand.
“So far we have played good football,” KRL manager Ayaz Butt told ‘The News’ after his team’s one-sided win over KPT, who crashed out of title contention with their second straight loss.
On Tuesday night, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) defeated Asia Ghee Mills 2-1 to virtually make it to the last-eight stage.
Maqbool put them on the front foot in the 20th minute. Sher Ali doubled NBP’s lead with an excellent effort in the 88th minute.
Asia Ghee Mills managed a goal through Adnan Ashraf in the stoppage time.
Asia Ghee Mills also went out of the race for knockout stages as it was their second straight defeat.
With Pakistan Air Force (PAF) having qualified from Group A, NBP need just a draw against Police to progress to the knock-out stage.