April 7, 2006	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 8, 1427

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LAHORE, April 6: Kin Seng Chan struck twice to help Macau earn a 2-2 draw against Pakistan in the Group D match of the first AFC Challenge Cups at Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh on Thursday.

Striker Chan helped 192th ranked Macau to come twice from behind to snatch an honourable draw against three-time SAF Games Gold medalist Pakistan.

The draw almost ends Pakistan's hopes of making it to the last eight as Tajikistan with six points went through.

The remaining three Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Macau will have to wait for the result of Friday's match between Kyrgyzstan and Macau.

Pakistan ended with four points while Kyrgyzstan and Macau have three and one point each. A draw would be enough for Kyrgyzstan to qualify for the last eight on better goal average against Pakistan.

Adeel Ahmed put Pakistan ahead in the 12th minute when the diminutive striker slammed a loose ball home from ten yards after Macau failed to clear a long ball from the middle.

But the Pakistan celebration did not last long as Macau struck the equalizer four minutes later when Chan, completely unmarked by the Pakistani defenders, tapped the ball in from close range after meeting a low left-flank cross by Weng Nin Ku. It was 1-1 at interval.

Striker Mohammad Essa regained the lead for Pakistan three minutes from the break, through a penalty-kick after midfielder Abdul Aziz was fouled by Tak Ian Un inside the box.

Macau's goalkeeper Hon Ming Chu foiled several attempts on the goal. Pakistan paid for the misses dearly as Kin leapt high in the air to spectacularly head home a left-wing free kick by Gefredo Cheung in the 52nd minute.

Earlier, a 22-minute strike by Andrey Krasnov kept Kyrgyzstan alive for a quarterfinals berth with a 1-0 victory over their central Asian neighbours Tajikistan.

Friday's fixture: Kyrgyzstan vs Macau.