NBP come from behind to beat Muslim FC

KARACHI: Substitutes Adnan Nazar and Maqbool hit one goal apiece in the second half to enable National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to come from one goal down to prevail over Chaman’s Muslim FC 2-1 in their crucial game of the 12th Pakistan Premier Football League here at KMC Stadium on Tuesday.

In the hotly-contested battle, Qudratullah put Muslim FC ahead in the 32nd minute. At half-time, they were leading 1-0.In the second half, NBP created some solid chances, scoring twice through Adnan (65th minute) and Maqbool (80th minute) to bring in seventh win for the bankers.

National Bank’s sports chief Iqbal Qasim also witnessed the match. “It was a good match,” NBP coach Nasir Ismail told ‘The News’.“Muslim FC are a tough team. Their players are physically well-built but their endurance level downs in the second half normally. Keeping in view such thing we made some crucial changes in the second half and that paid dividends as both substitutes Adnan Nazar and Maqbool scored goals,” Nasir said.

He said the presence of Iqbal Qasim also motivated the boys and they lived up to the expectations.The win took NBP to 27 points from 18 matches. Muslim FC are gasping at 15 points from 18 outings.

Meanwhile in the other outing at KPT Stadium, former two-time champions Army notched their eighth victory when they edged past Chaman’s Afghan FC 2-0 to take their points to 32 from 18 outings.

After a barren but action-packed first-half, Ansar Abbas gave Army lead in the 55th minute. Ten minutes later Mateen doubled it with a solid goal. The loss left Afghan FC reeling at just 16 points after 18 appearances.

Here at the Korangi Baloch Football Ground, National Challenge Cup 2018 winners Pakistan Air Force (PAF) whipped Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 3-0 to inflate their tally to 36 from 18 outings.

Samad Khan emerged as hero for PAF as he hit twice in the 36th and 62nd minute to put PAF in strong position. Faisal then added to the misery of KPT through clinical strike in the 90th minute.The loss left KPT gasping at just 13 points after 17 matches.