Pakistan women’s football team registered their first international win when they beat Maldives 2-1 in the first SAFF Women Football Championship 2010 in Bangladesh.
Pakistan conceded the first goal in the seventh minute of the match but winger Mehwish Khan scored an equaliser in the last minute of the first half to become Pakistan’s first woman footballer to score in an international.
With the score staying level for most of the second half, Pakistan were awarded a penalty just two minutes before the final whistle when a Maldives defender handled in the area. Malaika Noor converted the resulting penalty and sealed the historic win for Pakistan in the 89th minute.
“I was motivating the team by telling them that if they win this match they will create history and I’m glad they delivered against a better team,” coach Tariq Lutfi told The Express Tribune. “I didn’t set any targets before the tournament because we hadn’t observed our opponents’ game. But with this win, I expect a place in the semi-finals.”
However, the coach voiced his concerns regarding the future of the sport in Pakistan. “I’m more concerned about the future of women football in Pakistan after watching teams from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. These women play football like men. So the Pakistan Football Federation should take women footballers seriously and develop better programmes for them.”
Pakistan is drawn in Group B with Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan while hosts Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are in Group A. The two best teams from each group will play the semi-finals. Pakistan will play their second match against Nepal on Thursday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2010
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