KARACHI: Karachi Port Trust (KPT) twice came from behind to beat Chaman’s Muslim FC 3-2, while National Bank produced their fourth win of the season, inflicting a 2-0 defeat on Nushki’s Baloch FC in the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League 2012 here on Friday.
At the KPT Stadium, the hosts got full advantage of individual mistakes of Muslim FC’s defence line and goalkeeper to record their third victory of the season from nine games that helped them inflate their tally to 11 points.
“It was a good victory, but I am not satisfied with our finishing. The boys will have to improve in the area in the coming away matches,” KPT Sports Manager Shah Naeem Zafar told ‘The News’ after the tough show.
Muslim FC, who have emerged as a real threat to departmental sides after beating PIA and Habib Bank in their Karachi round, got onto the scoresheet through Saeed Ahmad in the third minute.
However, KPT bounced back when international Junaid Qadir struck an equaliser due to a goalkeeping blunder in the 15th minute.
Muslim FC, carrying mostly young players, again took the lead through Saeed who made his double with clinical precision in the 36th minute.
At half time, Muslim FC were leading 2-1. After the breather, skipper Zafar Majeed brought parity for KPT in the 63rd minute when his shot on free-kick went into the net after deflecting off the pole.
After this, both sides played tough game, but KPT managed to score the winner as Mohammad bin Younis made most of a defence blunder in the last minute.
Muslim FC coach Mohammad Dawood was shocked by the defeat. “You know, it was disappointing defeat. We conceded all the three goals due to individual mistakes. The keeper made mistakes, and the third goal came because of a defender’s folly,” Dawood told this correspondent.
“Although the result has shocked me, still I am happy as we gave some tough time to even professional teams in our Karachi round,” added Dawood.
Muslim FC ended their Karachi round with 14 points from 10 matches, with three wins, five draws and two defeats.
They will now proceed to Islamabad on October 1 where they will face ZTBL on October 5.
KPT will leave for Lahore on October 2 where they will play their first game against Wohaib Club on October 5 and WAPDA on 8.
At the Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground, National Bank easily defeated underdogs Baloch FC to take their points to 18 from 10 appearances.
It was the day of international striker Farooq Shah who landed a brace for the bankers with strikes in 37th and 65th minutes.
NBP coach Nasir Ismail said that his team should have won by six to eight goals. “We missed so many chances. We could have improved our goal-average but squandered that opportunity,” Nasir said.
“Our target was to finish the Karachi round with 22 points and we are four points behind our target. Now, we will go to Lahore tomorrow and will play our first game there against WAPDA on October 4,” Nasir said.
Baloch FC are reeling at seven points from nine matches.
Today’s fixture: WAPDA v PAF (Railways Stadium, Lahore)
9th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012(9th PPFL-2012)
Match Results (Friday, September 28, 2012)
Match # 60
NBP beat Baloch FC 2:0 @ 1600 PST @ Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground, Karachi, Pakistan
Scorer NBP: Farooq Shah (FW) 2 Goals @ 37 & 65 Mnt.
Best Player: Misbah-ul-Hassan (DF) of NBP
Best Scorer: Farooq Shah (FW) of NBP
Match Commissioner: Ahmed Ali Wasti Cell # 0334-3420304
Match # 61
KPT beat Muslim FC 3:2 @ 1600 PST @ KPT Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
Scorer KPT: Junaid Qadir (MF) 1 Goal @ 15 Mnt, Zafar Majeed (FW) 1 Goal @ 63 Mnt and Muhammad (FW) 1 Goal @ 90 Mnt.
Scorer Muslim FC: Saeed Ahmed (FW) 2 Goals @ 3, 36 Mnt
Yellow Card Muslim FC: Abdul Hameed (DF) @ 52 Mnt, Hameed Ullah (DF) @ 60 Mnt and Abdul Qadir @ 63 Mnt.
Best Player: Saeed Ahmed (FW) of KPT
Best Scorer: Saeed Ahmed (FW) of KPT
Match Commissioner: Ali Nawaz Baloch Cell # 0300-2146038
Tomorrow 9th PPFL-2012 Fixture :(Saturday, September 29, 2012)
Match # 62 WAPDA Vs PAF @ 1600 PST @ Railway Football Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan