Kaleemullah helps stretch KRL lead

KARACHI: Striker Kaleemullah scored his fifth hat-trick of the season to guide leaders Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) to a 5-1 victory over minnows Wohaib Club, while former champions Army jumped to the second spot after beating WAPDA 2-1 in matches of the 9th Pakistan Premier Football League on Tuesday.

At the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi, holders KRL did not face any trouble against Wohaib Club, taking their points tally to 40 from 17 games. Kaleem once again emerged as the top performer for the winners, hitting his fifth treble in the season.

He scored goals in the seventh and the 25th minutes and one in the injury time, stretching his overall tally to 19 at the summit.

Kaleem was joined on the scoresheet by midfielders Mohammad Aadil and Aabid Khan who struck in the 10th and the 47th minutes, respectively. KRL were leading 3-1 at interval. Nouman Khan landed the consolation goal for Wohaib Club when he brought an equaliser in the 18th minute.

“The boys are playing really well and I hope that we will be able to retain the title,” KRL coach Tariq Lutfi told ‘The News’. “But there is room for improvement in our defence. Kamran, who has come back from injury, is yet to get his rhythm and the goal we conceded was due to a mistake by him,” added Tariq, a former Pakistan coach.

“Kaleem definitely is performing but I don’t think he played in full swing as he also missed a couple of sitters,” Tariq pointed out.

The loss left Wohaib Club reeling at eight points from 18 meetings.

At the Army Stadium in Rawalpindi, Army outgunned four-time former champions WAPDA to stretch their points tally to 40 from 19 appearances.

Army’s most consistent scorer Ansar Abbas put them ahead in the 11th minute. Army kept inflicting incisive rallies from both wings and got a penalty in the 32nd minute. Goalkeeper Jaffar Khan, their skipper, made no mistake and smashed the ball past his counterpart. At half time, Army were leading 2-0. Soon after the breather WAPDA reduced the deficit with a fine counter-attack through Zulfiqar Ali Shah, but they failed to score any more.

Shahid Zameer from Army was declared the best player of the show for his fine performance in the deep as he foiled a few nasty rallies from the rivals, who looked dangerous in the second half.

WAPDA, with the loss, were left struggling at 22 points from 18 matches.

At the Government High School Ground in Chaman, hosts Muslim FC held Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to a 1-1 draw to take their points to 31 at the fifth place from 19 matches.

After a goalless first half, Habib Bank went ahead through Mohammad Yaqoob in the 53rd minute. But Muslim FC brought an equaliser through Mohammad Hanif in the 65th minute.

“It was a tough game as both sides played with a lot of aggression,” Habib Bank coach Yousuf Khan said.

“It was a good comeback for us as Muslim FC are a strong team and we will now go all out in our last game against Nushki’s Baloch FC and will try to grab full three points,” added Yousuf.

Muslim FC coach Mohammad Dawood said there was a lot of pressure on the boys due to the huge crowd. “When you are playing in front of around 20,000 people, then it naturally puts the players under pressure and today we felt that,” Dawood said.

“The goal we conceded was on a foul ball as our defender was pulled by a Habib Bank striker before he scored the goal. I have the video of it and have told the referee that it was a blunder from him, which changed the result,” said Dawood.

Habib Bank, with the single point, moved to 17 from 19 outings.

Today’s fixtures: PIA v Navy (Korangi Baloch Ground, Karachi), PAF v PMC FC (PAF Complex Ground, Peshawar), Afghan FC v KESC (Government High School, Chaman).

by Alam Zeb Safi [The News]

9^th Pakistan Premier Football League-2012(9^th PPFL-2012)

 

Match Results (Tuesday, November 06, 2012)

 

Match # 141

Army beat WAPDA 2:1 @ 14:30 PST @ Army Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Scorer Army: Ansar Abbas (FW) 1 Goal @ 11 Mnt and Jaffar Khan (Goalkeeper) 1 Goal through Penalty Kick @ 32 Mnt.

Scorer WAPDA: Zulifar Ali (FW) 1 Goal through free kick @ 50 Mnt.

Yellow Card Army: Rizwan (DF) @ 90 Mnt.

Yellow Card WAPDA: Shahid (DF) @ 31 Mnt,

Best Player: Sahaid Zameer (DF) of Army

Best Scorer: Zulifqar Ali (DF) of WAPDA

Match Commissioner: Qazi Muhammad Asif Cell # 0313-5969593

Match # 142

Muslim FC Vs HBL 1:1 Draw @ 15:00 PST @ Government High School, Chaman, Pakistan

Scorer Muslim FC: Muhammad Hanif (FW) 1 Goal @ 65 Mnt.

Scorer HBL: Muhammad Yaqoob (FW) 1 Goal @ 53 Mnt.

Yellow Card Muslim FC: Wazir Muhammad (Goalkeeper) @ 73 Mnt.

Best Player: Wazir Muhammad (Goalkeeper) of Muslim FC

Best Scorer: Muhammad Yaqoob (FW) of HBL

Match Commissioner: Salah-ud-Din Awan Cell # 0302-5932197

 

Match # 157

KRL beat Wohaib FC 5:1 @ 14:30 PST @ KRL Football Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Scorer KRL: Kaleem Ullah (FW) 3 Goals @ 7, 25, 90+1 Mnt, Muhammad Adil (MF) 1 Goal @ 10 Mnt and Abid Khan (MF) 1 Goal @ 47 Mnt.

Scorer Wohaib FC: Noman Khan (FW) 1 Goal @ 18 Mnt.

Yellow Card Wohaib FC: Usman (MF) @ 68 Mnt.

Best Player: Faheem Ahmed (MF) of Wohaib FC

Best Scorer: Kaleem Ullah (FW) of KRL

Match Commissioner: Muhammad Zaman Khan Cell # 0300-5343428

 

9^th PPFL-2012 Fixture :( Wednesday, November 07, 2012)

Match # 131 PIA Vs Navy @ 14:30 PST @ Korangi Baloch Ground, Karachi, Pakistan

Match # 143 PAF Vs PMC FC @ 14:30 PST @ PAF Complex Ground, Peshawar, Pakistan

Match # 144 Afghan FC Vs KESC @ 15:00 PST @ Govt. High School, Chaman, Pakistan