Afghan Club, PWD draw blank

Published September 5, 2005

KARACHI, Sept 4: PWD and Afghan Club share a point after a 0-0 draw in a Premier League soccer match marred by misconduct by PWD official and Afghan Club player at CDGK Stadium on Sunday.

Habib came close to opening the score from 20 metres for PWD in the 25th minute but found Afghan Club goalkeeper Zahid Rasheed alert. It was a golden opportunity for PWD when Shah Nawaz’s strike was taken by Zahid on a rebound that came from a Naveed strike in the 35th minute.

Ten minutes later Naveed struck but shot the ball wide over the target, while Afghan Club’s Mohammad Essa was injured when hit by Jahangir during a tackle. Juma Khan of Afghan Club was yellow carded for a rough tackle on Ali Mohammad two minutes from halftime.

Aimal Khan provided a perfect pass only to see Essa squandering the opportunity from right, although he had all the time a minute before halftime whistle.

The move on which Essa could not produce result was followed by an ugly scene created by PWD team manager Azam Baloch who grabbed assistant referee Abrar Hussain near the sidelines, claiming the official should have declared Essa offside while abusing and misbehaving.

Afghan Club might have scored a minute into second session but Jumma Khan try sailed over the bar following an Abdul Mannan cross. Essa squared a perfect pass from 40 metres only to see Jumma missing the target from close range in the 73rd minute.

While the Afghan Club defence was beaten two minutes later, PWD’s Ramzan wasted a promising opening shooting the ball over the bar.

Barely a minute later, a swift punt upfield by Abdul Khaliq ended in PWD goalkeeper Sajid taking an Essa strike from 20 metres.

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