September 08, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 07, 1429

KARACHI, Sept 7: A brilliant show by district Malir champions Sharafi Mohammadan’s striker Abdul Haleem enabled them to outclass opponents Gharib Nawaz Dalmia 5-0 to gain another three points at the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) Stadium on Saturday night in the ongoing KASB Premier League Football (PLF) tournament.

All the five goals were scored by Abdul Haleem which not just makes him the scorer of the tournament’s second hat-trick after Karachi United’s Daniyal Alvi but also its top scorer. The win gives three more points to Sharafi M’Dan, taking their tally to seven after having played three matches while Gharib Nawaz are on one after playing as many matches.

The match played under floodlights saw Gharib Nawaz Dalmia under pressure from the very start when Abdul Haleem dodged past a defender to confuse goalkeeper Farhad and shoot in the third minute. But luckily for Gharib Nawaz, it met the left side pole to be quickly cleared by another defender.

But the 25th minute saw Abdul Haleem making no mistake in converting a pass from fellow striker Mohammad Baloch from inside the penalty area.

Gharib Nawaz missed two successive opportunities to restore parity in the 32nd and 36th minutes when their striker Zubair Ahmed’s aim went off target followed by the other striker Saeed Baloch’s attempt going outside after touching the crossbar.

Sharafi M’Dan got their second goal when Abdul Haleem took control of a through pass from midfielder Mohammad Asghar, which he quickly led towards the goal in the 42nd minute. The score at interval was 2-0.

Gharib Nawaz missed another good opportunity in the 52nd minute when their striker Khalid Baloch’s weak try went directly into the winners’ goalkeeper Wahid Bakhsh’s hands.

And then it was Sharafi’s turn to score three more goals to seal the fate of the match. Their third one came in the 70th minute off substitute striker Mohammad Azam’s pass, converted expertly by Abdul Haleem followed by two more in the 76th and 82nd minutes through solo effort.