KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ended the first phase of the Pakistan Premier Football League at second spot when they overpowered Habib Bank (HBL) 3-2 in their match at the KPT Stadium here on Friday.
With the game, the opening round during which 69 matched were held came to an end. The 240-match marathon will resume on September 15 after a long break for Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.
PIA opened the scoring through Abdul Jabbar Senior in the 14th minute before international striker Shakir Lashari doubled their lead with a solo effort in the 44th. In the second-half, HBL offered more resistance and were able to reduce the deficit with a 78th minute strike from Zakir Lashari, the younger brother of Shakir.
In injury-time, Shakir scored his second goal for PIA before Bilal Ahmed pulled one back for HBL in the dying moments.
PIA moved to the second spot with 18 points from eight games, ten points short of the leaders Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) who have 28 points from ten appearances.
The opening round turned out to be an eventful voyage as several matches were disturbed due to security concerns and lack of discipline on the pitch. Former champions Army forfeited their match against National Bank here at the KPT Stadium due to aerial firing outside the venue. In another game here at the same venue, two spectators were hit by stray bullets, one of them who was also a local club footballer succumbed to the head injury. In a match in Quetta, PAF players and assistant referee Nasir Ahmed were attacked by Afghan FC players and fans after which PAF forfeited their next two games against Muslim FC and Baloch FC. The other day, two Army players Imran Hussain and Shakeel Ahmed were fined and suspended by the PFF for assaulting the referee during their game against Afghan FC.
KRL, the 2009 champions, have so far put in a splendid performance and stay unbeaten. National Bank, unlike in previous seasons, showed improvement this time, ending the first phase at third spot with 15 points from eight meetings. Defending champions WAPDA were the biggest disappointment as they collected only 14 points from ten appearances. They suffered because of their former head coach Khalid Butt was demoted from the slot of head coach.
Habib Bank did a great job in order to keep themselves away from the relegation zone as they sit at ninth place with 12 points from nine games. Navy and KPT were the others who disappointed their management with poor showing so far. Debutants Police did well by gaining 12 points from seven while Mohammad Essa-led KESC are also struggling with 12 points from eight.
PPFL STANDINGS
Team Played Won Lost Draw GS GA GD Points
KRL 10 9 0 1 23 2 21 28
PIA 8 6 2 0 20 13 7 18
NBP 8 5 3 0 15 5 10 15
AFGHAN FC 7 4 0 3 9 3 6 15
WAPDA 10 4 4 2 10 10 0 14
ARMY 10 4 5 1 11 15 -4 13
KESC 8 3 2 3 10 7 3 12
POLICE 7 4 3 0 7 6 1 12
HBL 9 3 3 3 9 11 -2 12
MUSLIM FC 6 3 2 1 6 6 0 10
KPT 7 3 4 0 8 12 -4 9
NAVY 10 2 5 3 11 16 -5 9
BALOCH FC 6 1 2 3 4 3 1 6
PEL 8 1 4 3 3 10 -7 6
PAF 10 0 6 4 3 16 -13 4
PMC Athletico 10 0 7 3 4 18 -14 3