KARACHI: Army and SA Gardens booked their places in the semi-finals of the National Challenge Cup in contrasting fashion on Wednesday.
Mohammad Rafay struck twice as Army thrashed Nimso 4-0 in their quarter-final, while SA Gardens needed a penalty shootout to overcome International Supply Company 4-2 after the sides were locked 1-1 at the end of extra time.
Army dominated from the outset and went ahead in style in the 13th minute when Rafay curled a delightful first-time effort into the far corner.
“I had my eyes on the goal when the ball was coming to me,” Rafay said later. “Thankfully, the execution was good.”
Nimso struggled to cope with Army’s relentless pressing and found themselves three goals down by the 26th minute as Mansoor Ali and Rafay struck within the space of two minutes. Mansoor latched onto a through ball and delicately lifted it past the advancing goalkeeper before Rafay turned in a shot from Mohammad Afzal to put the result beyond doubt.
Army remained in control throughout and completed the rout in the 85th minute when Noor Saba found the net to seal a commanding victory and set up a semi-final clash against Khan Research Laboratories.
In the other quarter-final, SA Gardens took the lead in the 35th minute after being awarded a penalty, with Umar Javed calmly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot in a tightly-contested encounter.
International Supply Company restored parity in the 73rd minute when Salman Umer finished off a swift counter-attack, slotting the ball through a defender’s legs.
With neither side able to find a winner in extra time, the match went to penalties.
Umar emerged as the hero in the shootout, donning the gloves to tip Salman’s effort onto the bar before stepping up to convert his own spot-kick and steer SA Gardens into the semi-finals, where they will face Wapda in a repeat of last year’s final.
“It was a tough game and we have another tough one coming up,” Umar said. “We will look to build on this.”
Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2026
