KARACHI: Pakistan Police moved closer to spot in the final round of the second-tier Pakistan Football Federation League Departmental Leg with a goalless draw against Aquapure Water Company (AWC) on Sunday.

The victory puts Police on seven points from three matches in Group ‘B’, which is being played in Quetta. They are four points ahead of Pak-Afghan Clearing Agency, who beat Insaf Afghan Goods Trading Company (IAGTC) 2-0 with first-half goals from Abdul Baseer and Mohibullah in their second group game on Saturday.

IAGTC and AWC, who have played two games each so far, have one point each while Social Welfare Team are yet to open their account after losing their only match to Police.

The top two teams from each of the three Departmental Leg groups advance to the final round with the top three teams from that round to gain promotion to the Pakistan Premier Football League.

In Group ‘A’, Karachi United joined Gwadar Port Authority on three points after they edged past Sindh Government Press 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Amir’s 87th-minute winner at the Drigh Road Union FC ground in Karachi.

Group ‘C’, which is being played in Lahore, is on hold due to the global coronavirus outbreak. The other two groups could also be postponed due to the pandemic.

The club leg, featuring five teams, is slated to begin in Lahore from March 23. The winner of the club leg will join the departmental leg winner in this season’s PPFL.\

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2020