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PPL thrash PCCA to claim 3rd spot in Challenge Cup

By Our Correspondent
May 10, 2018

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) Football Club crushed Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) 5-1 in the third position outing to claim bronze medal in the PFF National Challenge Cup here at the KPT Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Nazir remained the star performer for the winners who hit a treble in the outing in which PCAA seemed fatigued and did not show the kind of game the newly-formed side showed throughout the competitions.

Nazir hit in the 67th, 79th and 85th minute to finish the 24-team event with five goals. He was also joined on the score-sheet by Abdullah (21st minute) and Mehrullah (26th minute). For PCAA Zain landed the consolation goal in the 57th minute of the showdown witnessed by a sizable crowd. PPL assistant coach Zahid Hameed was happy with the achievement of his side.

“It was our first meet and winning bronze is a good achievement,” Zahid told ‘The News’ after the one-sided outing. He said that PPL had a few good youngsters who could serve Pakistan in future.

“There are at least two under-19 players in our side who are competent enough to represent Pakistan. Around our eight players are under-23. And the encouraging thing is that seven of our players have also received offers from other departments,” informed Zahid, who was Pakistan’s Olympic side captain which beat Singapore in the first round of the 2008 Olympic Qualifiers. About his coaching expertise Zahid said it was his first experience.

“It was my first experience as a coach and I will keep learning from my seniors and will also do some courses required for the purpose,” Zahid said.On Thursday (today) four-time Premier League winners WAPDA will face the 2014 edition winners Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in the final at the same venue. The final will start at 3:30pm. It is a good chance for the country’s highly developed side WAPDA to earn their first title of the country’s second major event.

The final is expected to be a tough one as both sides play with the similar style and it would be interesting how they could overcome each other. A large crowd is expected to turn up for the final showdown of an event being held after three years. Last time the same event had been held in 2015.

And the subsequent three years marked the darkest period of Pakistan’s football when the game came to a stand-still due to conflict between Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and its rival group.