KARACHI: A resurgent Habib Bank Limited (HBL) stunned Pakistan Army 2-0 here on Tuesday to severely damage their opponents’ aspirations of Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) glory.
Army, eight points behind league leaders Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), were looking to trim the defending champions’ lead at the People’s Football Stadium but never recovered from HBL’s first-half blitz.
HBL have shown great character to move up the table after languishing near the bottom last week and it was their striker Atif who set them on the way to their third straight victory when he sprang the off-side trap before calmly slotting the ball home to give them the lead in the ninth minute.
The early strike gave HBL the impetus to go forward and with confidence flowing through their ranks, they added another in the 32nd when Mohammad Yaqoob collected a delightful pass before scoring with a deft shot to put them 2-0 up.
Army’s hopes of victory and all three points were diminishing fast. They piled forward and threw as much as they could but HBL defender Ghazanfar Abbas proved a rock in the heart of the bankers’ defence as he made one tackle after another to deny their opponents a chance to get back in the game.
Victory put HBL on 31 points while Army stay on 51 with five matches of the season left to play.
KRL have played a game less than Army and face a Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) side on Wednesday who have seen their title chances dwindle after being held to two straight draws by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
KESC, who have 56 points, have played a game more than Army and defeat to KRL would see them fighting to retain second spot with PIA (53 points), Army and Muslim FC (50) lying in close proximity.
In the other match at the KPT Football Stadium on Tuesday, Wapda played with 10 men for nearly one half but managed to come out with a 1-0 victory over National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
In a match which saw very little flowing football but an array of cautions, Zulfiqar Shah put Wapda in front with a 29th minute strike.
A minute before half-time, Wapda’s Mohammed Ahmed was sent off after receiving a second yellow card but despite having a man advantage, NBP could not find the equaliser.
It was Wapda’s first match since their team won gold medal in the football championship at the 32nd National Games in Lahore and victory put them on 29 points, eight behind NBP.
Wednesday’s fixtures:
Muslim FC v Wohaib FC (Govt High School Ground, Chaman); KESC v KRL (KPT Football Stadium, Karachi).
