KARACHI: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) recorded their eighth victory of the season by inflicting a crushing 5-0 defeat on an injury-hit Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in their match of the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League at the PAF Complex in Peshawar on Wednesday.
In the other game of the day, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) defeated Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 2-0.
Peshawar has turned out to be a lucky station for PAF as after opting to shift their home venue from Islamabad to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital, they have produced wonderful results. And their prey on Wednesday were Habib Bank who they routed with an enviable ease to join KESC and Army at 27 points and the trio are just a single point behind leaders KRL and National Bank who both share 28 points at the summit.
Mansoor Khan, the hero of Pakistan’s title-winning triumph in Nepal last year in the SAFF Under-16 Championship, put PAF ahead in the 15th minute before Irfan Ali doubled their lead a minute latter. Striker Mohammad Mujahid, who also earned both the best player and best scorer awards, further inflated PAF’s tally with a fine field effort in the 27th minute.
At half-time, PAF were leading 3-0. After the breather, PAF went on aggressively, adding two more goals through Mohammad Arif and Mohammad Asif Nawaz in the 51st and 56th minutes to complete the rout.
Habib Bank coach Yousuf Khan said his team should not have conceded so many goals. “I think we should not have lost by five goals as it was not a one-sided affair as it appeared,” Yousuf told ‘The News’ from Peshawar.
“We are missing around half a dozen players due to injuries and Malaria. We not only missed a few good chances but our goalie Sajid Hussain was also off-colour as he conceded four goals, a couple of them from distance, which was disappointing,” Yousuf explained. “We replaced Sajid with Dilawar Hussain, but it was too late,” added the coach.
PAF coach Mohammad Arshad was happy with the outcome. “I think we have been able to produce good results so far at our home and have been undefeated in six games that we played here,” he said.
HBL players Adil and Abdullah will not be able to represent their side in the next game for double booking.
The loss left Habib Bank trailing at 15 points from 15 games which means that they have completed their fifty per cent matches in the marathon in which every outfit will play 30 matches each.
Meanwhile, at the Jinnah Stadium in the federal capital, ZTBL engineered their second victory of the season after overcoming KPT to stretch their points to 11 from 13 meetings.
ZTBL went ahead through Syed Ghazi who scored on a penalty in the 28th minute before Waqas Ahmad doubled their lead in the 51st minute.
“We are facing problems in finishing. Today, the result could have been different had our strikers converted the chances,” KPT coach Mohammad Asif lamented. After the loss, KPT stand at 15 points from 14 appearances.
Today’s fixtures: WAPDA v Baloch FC (Railways Stadium, Lahore), PMC v Navy (PMC Ground, Faisalabad), Army v NBP (Army Stadium, Rawalpindi), Wohaib Club v Muslim FC (UMT Ground, Lahore).
9th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012(9th PPFL-2012)
Match Results (Wednesday, October 17, 2012)
Match # 106
PAF beat HBL 5:0 @ 15:00 PST @ PAF Complex Ground, Peshawar, Pakistan
Scorer PAF: Mansoor Khan (FW) 1 Goal @ 15 Mnt, Irfan Ali (FW) 1 Goal @ 16 Mnt, Muhammad Mujahid (FW) 1 Goal @ 27 Mnt, Muhammad Arif (DF) 1 Goal @ 51 Mnt and Muhammad Asif Nawaz (DF) 1 Goal @ 56 Mnt.
Yellow Card HBL: Adil Sakhi (DF) @ 27 Mnt and Abdullah (DF) @ 90+2 Mnt.
Best Player: Muhammad Mujahid (FW) of PAF
Best Scorer: Muhammad Mujahid (FW) of PAF
Match Commissioner: Syed Imtiaz Ali Shah Cell # 0300-5845782
Match # 107
ZTBL beat KPT 2:0 @ 15:00 PST @ Jinnah Football Stadium, Islamabad, Pakistan
Scorer ZTBL: Syed Ghazi (DF) 1 Goal through Penalty Kick @ 28 Mnt and Waqas Ahmed (DF) 1 Goal @ 51 Mnt.
Yellow Card KPT: Sajid Hassan (Goal Keeper) @ 27 Mnt and Faraz (MF) @ 31 Mnt.
Best Player: Saeed Ahmed (FW) of ZTBL
Best Scorer: Waqas Ahmed (DF) of ZTBL
Match Commissioner: Zaman Khan Cell # 0300-5343428
Tomorrow 9th PPFL-2012 Fixture :( Thursday, October 18, 2012)
Match # 108 WAPDA Vs Baloch FC @ 12:30 PST @ Railway Football Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
Match # 109 PMC FC Vs Navy @ 15:00 PST @ PMC Football Ground, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Match # 110 Army Vs NBP @ 15:00 PST @ Army Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Match # 111 Wohaib FC Vs Muslim FC @ 15:00 PST @ UMT Football Ground, Lahore, Pakistan
Match # 112 KRL Vs Afghan FC @ 15:00 PST @ Railway Football Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | D | P | Last 5 matches | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
KRL | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 8 | +16 | 28 | W W W W D | |
| 2 |  |
National Bank | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 28 | W W L W D | |
| 3 | |
Karachi Electric | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 26 | 10 | +16 | 27 | L W D D D | |
| 4 | Pakistan Air Force | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 9 | +16 | 27 | W W W W W | ||
| 5 | Pakistan Army | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 27 | W W W W W | ||
| 6 | |
WAPDA | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 18 | D L D D L | |
| 7 | |
Muslim | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 18 | L L W D L | |
| 8 | Pakistan Airlines | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 9 | +0 | 16 | L D D D D | ||
| 9 | |
Pakistan Navy | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 15 | D D L L D | |
| 10 | |
Karachi Port Trust | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 21 | -8 | 15 | L L L D W | |
| 11 | Habib Bank | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 21 | -13 | 15 | L W L W W | ||
| 12 | PMC Athletico | 12 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 11 | +0 | 11 | D D W L L | ||
| 13 | ZTBL | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 11 | W L D L L | ||
| 14 | Afghan | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 10 | W L W L L | ||
| 15 | Baloch | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 23 | -19 | 8 | D L L L L | ||
| 16 | Wohaib | 12 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 19 | -15 | 4 | L L L D D |