PPFL: Army beat Navy 2-0 to claim second place

Goal-keeper Jaffar confident team will retain last year’s silver medal.

KARACHI:

Army continued their winning run in the Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) as they defeated Navy 2-0 in Karachi yesterday, while ZTBL outclassed Afghan FC 3-1 in Chaman.

This was Army’s second win in the three matches they have played in Karachi. After conceding a shock win to HBL in the opening match, they regained their form by defeating PIA 1-0 in the next and moved up to second place after yesterday’s match.

Ansar Abbas scored the opening goal in the 30th minute while Mohammad Rizwan doubled the lead five minutes later.

“We are determined to retain last year’s silver medal,” Army goal-keeper Jaffar Khan told The Express Tribune. “If we win another match in the league, our second spot would be secure. We aim to preserve our place among the best football clubs in the country. Consistency is important for us as ending the season on the third position would mean we have gotten weaker in a year.”



Meanwhile in Chaman, ZTBL, who are fighting a relegation battle, beat Afghan FC 3-1. After a goalless first-half, Hikmatullah struck in the 64th minute with Mohammad Hanif scoring the second goal four minutes later. Afghan FC’s Mohammad Ali then scored in the 77th minute before Hikmatullah sealed the victory for ZTBL in the 84th minute.

ZTBL remained in 14th position with 27 points after playing 29 matches while Afghan FC also maintained their ninth position with 32 points.

In another match, HBL drew against Wapda 2-2 in their 29th match of the season and now have 32 points in the league. HBL are in 10th position while Wapda remained in 11th spot.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2013.