Football: Gill’s hat-trick fires Navy to thumping win

HBL suffer crushing loss in football league.

KARACHI: Nomi Martin Gill’s superb hat-trick helped Navy stun HBL 3-0 in a Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) clash in Rawalpindi, while Pel refused to play yet another tournament fixture, handing a walkover and easy points to PAF.

Gill opened the scoring in the 25th minute as Navy led 1-0 at the breather. HBL tried to score an equaliser but their attempts failed to produce the desired result. Gill, on the other hand, taking advantage of HBL’s weak defence, doubled the lead in the 80th minute, and completed the win with yet another strike a minute before full-time.

Gill’s brilliance helped Navy win their fourth match of the tournament after having played 21 games. They now lie on 13th position in the league, whereas PAF remain on 14th spot with 18 points.

Pel, meanwhile, sit at the bottom of the 16-team table after refusing to play their sixth match and face relegation from the PPFL along with 15th-placed PMC Athletico.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th,  2011.