KRL aim for qualification for AFC Cup

Pakistan club will begin campaign in President’s Cup on May 7.

KARACHI:

Pakistan Premier Football League champions KRL are looking forward to the team’s opening match against Sheikh Russel KC in the 2014 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President’s Cup on May 7 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Last year’s finalists KRL will leave late Sunday night to participate in the tournament.

KRL will be playing the first-round matches with Bangladesh’s Sheikh Russel KC, Bhutan’s Ugyen Academy FFC and hosts Sri Lanka Air Force.

The Rawalpindi-based club will be aiming to finish among the top two teams in Group A in order to qualify for the next round and subsequently get a chance to play the 2015 AFC Cup play-offs for the first time.

Kamran Khan, who replaces injured Samar Ishaq as KRL captain, seemed confident about his team’s chances despite missing many key players.

“Our first match will be crucial,” Kamran told The Express Tribune.

“If we win against Bangladesh, we’ll have 70% chance of making it to the next round. We’ll do our best. We have new talent on our side. It’s a clever combination of the seniors and juniors, so we’ll have an edge.

“We are the strongest team in the pool but the pressure is still there. However, we have worked hard despite lacking star-power. If KRL can produce players like Kaleemullah, Mohammad Aadil and Saddam Hussain, this club can produce more quality players as well.”

Similarly, senior striker Muhammad Qasim said that other teams are already feeling the pressure because of KRL’s presence in the group.

“My friends from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have told me that they aren’t expecting easy wins against KRL,” said Qasim.

“However, the outcome will be unpredictable because we have new players in our team who need to be fielded in order to gain experience. Even during our training sessions, we gave them enough chances to improve their game.”

KRL had also won their practice match 1-0 against the national squad last week.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2014.

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