Army beat Muslim FC to reach third spot

KARACHI: Former champions Army jumped to the third spot when they beat Chaman’s Muslim FC 2-0 in their match of the 12th Pakistan Premier Football League at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore, on Friday.

Young striker Mohammad Mateen hit a double, scoring goals in the 33rd and 39th minutes.Army assistant and goalkeeping coach Jaffar Khan was happy with his team’s win. “Today, our boys played fine football,” Jaffar told ‘The News’.

“The pitch was good and our young striker Mateen made the difference. I hope the team will keep progressing like this,” said Jaffar, a former Pakistan captain.

Jaffar may miss a few matches of his side as he has been picked by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) in the Technical Study Group (TSG) which is selecting players during the National Women Championship which is in progress at Lahore.Army could have scored more goals in the hard-fought match but Tank-born young gloveman Mohammad Fahim made a few spectacular diving saves.Fahim, born in 1997, has played a key role in Muslim FC’s journey in the league. Before this game, Fahim had conceded only one goal in this league and that too off a penalty in his team’s 1-0 loss to Navy.

Army have 12 points from six matches. In the other clash of the day, Chaman’s Afghan FC defeated Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 1-0. Afghan FC moved to eight points.It has been a poor league so far for KPT as they are reeling at the 14th place with just a single point.