RAWALPINDI, Dec 28: Former Pakistan skipper Jaffar Khan extended his minutes to 1080 without conceding a goal in successive matches when he kept the rival forwards at bay as his team Pakistan Army beat the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) 2-0 in the third Pakistan Premier Football League match at the Army Sports Complex here on Thursday.
The Army struck a goal in each half to raise their points tally to 35 in 13 matches while the KRL have managed 29 points in the same number of games so far.
Striker Adnan Bari opened the scoring in the 17th minute when his drive proved to be too much for KRL's goal-keeper Amir Qureshi. The KRL also tested Army's defence with positive moves but Jaffar and defenders Ejaz Ahmed and Imran Khan foiled their attempts.
In the second half, the Army doubled the lead in the 57th minute when midfielder Faheem Riaz stunned the rivals with a thrilling goal.
The match at the Peoples Stadium, Karachi, saw the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) outclassing the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) 3-1 in the second leg after the 1-2 defeat at the hands of same team on December 25.
The NBP, former PFF President Cup champions, controlled the 90-minute match right from the word go and built a 2-0 lead by the interval.
Midfielder Abdul Aziz struck his sixth goal of the event to put the NBP ahead through a 13th minute penalty-kick. Five minutes later, winger Jamil Ahmed fired the ball into left corner to consolidate the lead.
Three minutes after the re-start Sattar Mansuri recorded his fifth goal of the event to put the issue beyond the KESC team. The KESC skipper Akber Ali struck the consolation goal in the final minute of the game through spot-kick.
Today’s fixture: Navy v KESC (Karsaz, Karachi).—APP