Army down KESC, KPT hold Navy
August 04, 2009
KARACHI: Experienced striker Imran Hussain’s lone goal in the second half provided former champions Army their maiden win when they beat Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) by 1-0 in a match of the Pakistan Premier Football League held at the Army Stadium in Rawalpindi on Monday.
After a barren but action-packed first half, Imran Hussain, known as Mani in football circle, hit the net in the 54th minute with a thunderous drive from the edge of the circle on a fantastic push from the left winger Asmatullah.
Earlier, in the first half KESC, who have been energised with the induction of five experienced players including Pakistan captain Muhammad Essa, Muhammad Rasool, Abdul Rehman, Wali Khan and Aurangzeb, were seen suffering from lack of coordination, failed to impress once again.
Surprisingly, the playmaker Muhammad Essa was once again placed in the midfield, the area where he feels uneasy as he always likes to be in the frontline where he has been more productive throughout his career.
KESC, who had lost to Habib Bank 0-1 in their second match here on July 29 after they had beaten KPT by 3-2 margin in their opener on July 26 here, got the better opportunity in the first fifteen minutes but Muhammad Rasool’s drive was splendidly gathered by Army’s goalie Jaffar Khan while diving towards his left.
After a goalless first half, Army, who had lost to Navy 0-1 in their opener on July 28 at the Naval Sports Complex in Islamabad, inflicted few combined rallies in the start of the second half which gifted them the lone, decisive goal through Imran Hussain in the 54th minute. Army opened their account with the win with three points from two meetings while KESC have three points from three matches.
Meanwhile, at the Naval Sports Complex in Islamabad, a flurry of missed chances denied Karachi Port Trust (KPT) an opportunity to record their first victory as their hard-fought battle against the hosts Navy ended in a goalless draw.
KPT, featuring Zahid Ahmad and Zafar Majeed in their frontline, could have struck three times in the first session but once Zahid Ahmad’s shoot hit the bar in the 20th minute, followed by another poor attempt from Naseer Ahmad who was fed by Zafar Majeed with a super cross from the left wing in the 25th minute. The same drama continued as eight minutes latter Zafar Majeed failed to strike with a volley when Navy’s goalkeeper Shehzad was standing all alone.
Substitute Asif Mehmood, who took the field in the second half in place of Asif Bakhsh, failed to fire for the hosts when he could not strike through a volley in the 51st minute. With the draw, Navy stretched their points to five from three meetings while KPT opened their account with one point from two matches.
Today’s fixtures: PMC Athletico v Chaman’s Afghan FC (Agriculture University Ground, Faisalabad), PEL v HBL (MTFA Ground, Lahore), WAPDA v Nushki’s Baloch FC (Railways Stadium, Lahore).
After a barren but action-packed first half, Imran Hussain, known as Mani in football circle, hit the net in the 54th minute with a thunderous drive from the edge of the circle on a fantastic push from the left winger Asmatullah.
Earlier, in the first half KESC, who have been energised with the induction of five experienced players including Pakistan captain Muhammad Essa, Muhammad Rasool, Abdul Rehman, Wali Khan and Aurangzeb, were seen suffering from lack of coordination, failed to impress once again.
Surprisingly, the playmaker Muhammad Essa was once again placed in the midfield, the area where he feels uneasy as he always likes to be in the frontline where he has been more productive throughout his career.
KESC, who had lost to Habib Bank 0-1 in their second match here on July 29 after they had beaten KPT by 3-2 margin in their opener on July 26 here, got the better opportunity in the first fifteen minutes but Muhammad Rasool’s drive was splendidly gathered by Army’s goalie Jaffar Khan while diving towards his left.
After a goalless first half, Army, who had lost to Navy 0-1 in their opener on July 28 at the Naval Sports Complex in Islamabad, inflicted few combined rallies in the start of the second half which gifted them the lone, decisive goal through Imran Hussain in the 54th minute. Army opened their account with the win with three points from two meetings while KESC have three points from three matches.
Meanwhile, at the Naval Sports Complex in Islamabad, a flurry of missed chances denied Karachi Port Trust (KPT) an opportunity to record their first victory as their hard-fought battle against the hosts Navy ended in a goalless draw.
KPT, featuring Zahid Ahmad and Zafar Majeed in their frontline, could have struck three times in the first session but once Zahid Ahmad’s shoot hit the bar in the 20th minute, followed by another poor attempt from Naseer Ahmad who was fed by Zafar Majeed with a super cross from the left wing in the 25th minute. The same drama continued as eight minutes latter Zafar Majeed failed to strike with a volley when Navy’s goalkeeper Shehzad was standing all alone.
Substitute Asif Mehmood, who took the field in the second half in place of Asif Bakhsh, failed to fire for the hosts when he could not strike through a volley in the 51st minute. With the draw, Navy stretched their points to five from three meetings while KPT opened their account with one point from two matches.
Today’s fixtures: PMC Athletico v Chaman’s Afghan FC (Agriculture University Ground, Faisalabad), PEL v HBL (MTFA Ground, Lahore), WAPDA v Nushki’s Baloch FC (Railways Stadium, Lahore).
