HYDERABAD, April 18 International striker Asif Mehmood saved Navy from undergoing the agony of playing another draw when his late strike pushed the seamen to an unimpressive 1-0 win over hosts DFA Hyderabad in Group `D` of the NBP National Football Challenge Cup (NFCC) at the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) Stadium on Saturday.

The day`s other two matches saw Wapda giving Higher Education Commission (HEC) an 8-0 thrashing in Group `A` and Karachi Port Trust (KPT) edging past Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) 2-1 in the other Group `D` encounter.

Holders Navy, who drew 1-1 with PEL on the opening day, were expected to win by a bigger margin but the stubborn Hyderabad team held territorial advantage for most of the game. It was 0-0 until the 73rd minute when Asif Mehmood while playing a fine one-two with Farhan, gently pushed the ball into the left corner.

Wapda`s strikers Rizwan Khan (65th, 82nd and 88th minutes) and Mohammad Ayaz (14th, 31st and 44th minutes) both earned hat-tricks while whipping HEC.

In the KPT-PEL match that the port men won 2-1, KPT`s striker Mohammad Naseer Baloch opened the score in the 65th minute after a barren first half. PEL`s Asmatullah equalised in the next two minutes and the winner was scored by KPT`s Mohammad Akhtar in the 87th minute. Wapda and HBL have now earned quarter-final spots from Group `A` while holders Navy need to at least draw against KPT in their next match.—Agencies