PAF lift National Challenge Cup

Winners bag Rs250,000 after beating K-Electric 3-1.

KARACHI:

PAF won the 2014 National Football Challenge Cup as they overcame K-Electric 3-1 in the final at the KPT Stadium on Saturday.

PAF became the favourites to win the tournament after they defeated national champions KRL in the quarter-finals on penalty kicks, while K-Electric were looking to win the trophy that has eluded them for the last three years.

On the field, K-Electric faced a tough competition from PAF, but managed to take the lead in the first minute of the half-time with Riaz Ahmed’s goal.

However, PAF hit back through Muhammad Mujahid ‘s equaliser in the 72nd minute, forcing the match into extra time.

PAF’s Muhammad Arif scored in the 101st minute before Muhammad Sher sealed the win in the 118th minute on Mushtaq’s pass.

“We are over the moon after this victory,” PAF Manager Arshad Khan told The Express Tribune.

“I had said this before that we deserved to win.”



Khan said that after conceding a goal in the first half, the coaches told players not to give in to the psychological pressure of the final.

“We changed our game a bit. We kept four strikers in front to equalise and to score enough goals to seal the victory. I’m glad our plan worked out perfectly”

Meanwhile, PAF coach Anwar said that his team has the capacity to take on any side in the domestic football circuit.

“The rise of PAF began in 2009, we’ve been improving since,” said Anwar. “Today I have young players who have potential. However, we need to work on them and teach them to strategise on the pitch. They need to be trained on positional behaviour during the match.”

Mujahid received the award for the top-scorer with six goals in the tournament while Ghazanfar Ali was declared the best goal-keeper of the tournament. PAF received Rs250,000 as prize money for winning the tournament.

K-Electric’s striker Oludeyi Abayomi got the prize for best player of the tournament.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2014.

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