KARACHI, June 7: Sindh fought off brave but ultimately toothless challenge from Punjab to win the inaugural under-16 national football title after a 1-0 victory courtesy a late first half stunner by Mohammad Waseem on Monday.

The hosts, who received Rs30,000 apart from a crystal trophy, missed number of gilt-edged chances, especially in the second period, although they kept Punjab under an avalanche of attacks even after a red card in the second half.

Waseem was tormenting Punjab defences from the beginning as he threatened the opposition with a flighted free kick that sailed over the bar in the 10th minute at CDGK Stadium.

Sindh finally went 1-0 ahead with Waseem latching on to a loose ball before firing home from 12 metres out past Punjab's stranded lanky goalkeeper Bilal Rafiq in the 34th minute.

Punjab's Shakeel Ahmad and Adnan Ilyas were shown yellow cards three minutes into second half by referee Mohammad Iqbal Jr, while Rehan Ahmad was booked in the 41st minute. Hakim Khan of Sindh also received a yellow in the 47th minute before Punjab launched an attack through Jaffar Ali but failed to cash in on a defensive lapse by Sindh defender Omar Farooq.

Sindh's Rashid Ghani, who was constantly making long punts upfield down the right, looked dangerous when he lashed a swerving right-foot 25-metre drive that was valiantly tipped by Bilal up and above crossbar.

Abdul Wahab of Sindh, who was tightly marked by Punjab, eventually got rid of his marker in the 53rd minute to square an inch-perfect pass from the left only to see Rashid wasting a golden chance, sending the ball straight into Bilal's gloves while goal was wide open.

Abdul Qayyum of Sindh received a yellow for rough play in the 54th minute. Punjab's best moment came in the 60th minute when Ali Ehsan dribbled down the right before his 20-metre effort struck the side-netting.

Sindh again came near scoring two minutes later but fluffed a promising opening when Alam Zaib fumbled a teasing Rashid cross, giving Punjab defenders an opportunity to clear the ball to safety.

Iqbal had a busy day as he ordered Qayyum off following the second yellow in the 66th minute, reducing the hosts to ten. Bilal once again was alert when it seemed Sindh would double the lead three minutes from time after Roshan Zameer set up Wahab whose 12-metre try was effectively checked by Punjab goalie.

Fata booked third place after a 4-3 sudden death penalty shootout triumph over Balochistan in the playoff earlier. The two sides were locked at 1-1 during the stipulated time and remained deadlocked at 3-3 during penalty shootout which forced the game into sudden death shootout.

After a barren first session, Riaz Ahmad of Balochistan broke the ice with a 43rd minute goal. Fata's Ajmer Khan equalised a minute later. The scoreline did not change yet after penalty shootout and both teams scored three goals, missing two penalties each.

Both sides were still even during sudden death penalties with Qayamuddin, Imran Hashim, Masood Ahmad converting and Abdul Qayyum missing from Balochistan. Jawaid Khan, Naheed Khan, Shakeel Khan were successful while Amjad Khan missed from Fata.

The issue was finally settled when Riaz Ahmad missed from Balochistan and Ajmer Khan slammed the fifth penalty for Fata. Besides runners-up Punjab received Rs20,000, Fata got Rs10,000, while Balochistan won fair play trophy and Rs5,000.