KARACHI: Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Wapda confirmed the last two spots in the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Cup quarter-finals in contrasting fashion on Sunday.

Star striker Saadullah scored the winner as SSGC edged 2-1 past Pakistan Police to seal top spot in Group ‘B’ with Wapda advancing as runners-up after a hat-trick from Jadeed Khan Pathan inspired them to a 5-1 thrashing of Pakistan Navy.

A draw against Police in the final round of fixtures would have put SSGC through but the victory saw them top the group with seven points, one ahead of Wapda. Police finished with three points, two points ahead of Navy.

Wapda will face Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in an intriguing last-eight clash between two sides which have dominated Pakistan football for the last decade with three and four Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) titles respectively.

KRL won Group ‘C’ after they emerged 2-1 winners on Sunday against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), who will now play SSGC for a spot in the semi-finals.

“The team is playing well and is on a roll with three straight wins,” KRL manager Ayaz Butt told Dawn on Sunday. “It will be a good match against Wapda and I believe we’re well-equipped to win against them.”

But the day belonged to SSGC, the second-division side which has overcome the odds to reach the last eight.

“We’ve come through a tough group against two top-tier sides,” match-winner Saadullah told Dawn on Sunday. “The team has good momentum and we hope to continue this against NBP. It won’t be easy against them because they’re a top side but we continue to believe.”

SSGC came through a qualification round to reach the final round of the PFF Cup and their never-say-die spirit showed when Saad struck the winner in the 73rd minute at the Fame Football Club Ground in Lahore.

Abdus Salam had given SSGC the lead in the seventh minute but Police, who needed a victory to reach the quarter-finals, levelled through Umair seven minutes later.

There was goals galore in the other Group ‘B’ match at the Raiders Football Club Ground in Lahore as Jadeed put Wapda ahead in the 12th minute.

Waseem Abbas then doubled Wapda’s lead in the 57th and then added his second, and his side’s third, eight minutes later.

Mohsin Ali pulled one back for Navy in the 72nd but Jadeed extinguished any hopes of a comeback when he netted his second in the 74th before completing his treble in four minutes from time.

In the earlier match at the Raiders Football Club Ground, KRL and NBP went into their clash to decide Group ‘C’ winners on the back of two wins each.

But a fast start by KRL, with two goals in the space of seven minutes by Muzammil Hussain and Yasir Afridi, settled the contest after 17 minutes.

Sher Ali pulled one back for NBP just before the half-hour mark but they couldn’t find the leveller.

Sui Nothern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) finished third in the group when Umar Farooq scored the decisive goal for a 1-0 win against Ashraf Sugar Mills.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2016