Football: KRL prevail over Afghan FC

Defending champions benefit from Kaleemullah’s treble in PPFL.

KARACHI:

Striker Kaleemullah maintained his goal scoring spree, grabbing another hat-trick that propelled KRL to a resounding 4-0 win against Afghan FC in their ninth Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) match at the Railway Stadium in Lahore.

Kaleemullah struck just five minutes into the game, his other goals coming in at the 29th and the 35th minutes.

Meanwhile, Wapda defeated Baloch FC 3-0 at the same venue with Arif Mahmood once again visible on the scoresheet.

Zulfiqar Shah gave his side an early advantage with a 26th-minute goal, while Habibullah’s dismissal in the 37th minute for two bookable offences threw Baloch FC in difficulty. Two goals within four minutes by Asad Shahzad and Mahmood in the second period sealed the match in Wapda’s favour.

In other matches, Muslim FC downed Wohaib FC 4-1 at the UMT Football Ground in Lahore.

Muslim FC’s Haji Muhammad scored the first goal in the second minute, only to be countered by Usman’s goal 14 minutes later. Hayatullah scored in the 29th minute to restore Muslim FC’s lead. The third goal was struck by Muhammad in the 75th minute and Saeed wrapped up the game four minutes later with another goal.

Navy claimed a 1-0 victory against PMC while Army drew with NBP 1-1 at the Army Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2012.