LAHORE, April 6: The Islamabad-born lanky right-winger Muhammad Qasim struck a hat-trick as Pakistan crushed Guam 9-2 in their third and final AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers Group ‘A’ match being played at Chinese Taipei’s Chungshan Stadium in Taipei.

After losing to Sri Lanka 7-1 in their last match, the win was a morale booster for Pakistan, who after two wins and one loss are now in the second spot with six points.

Sri Lanka who are currently on top are also likely to win the tournament to march into the main round that is to be held in India later this year.

Even if their final encounter against hosts Chinese Taipei ends in draw, it doesn’t affect their pool position. And if they lose by a low margin, they will still be the chart toppers on a better goal average than Pakistan.

With Zahid Hameed stepping in the captain’s shoes following Mohammad Essa’s injury in the match against Sri Lanka, Pakistan gave Guam no chance whatsoever to score in the first half. Pakistan led 4-0 at interval and added five more in the second session.

Left fullback Jamshed Anwar opened the score for Pakistan in the ninth minute with his first ever international goal and added one more another nine minutes later. Midfielder Farooq Shah made it 3-0 in the 28th minute.

Qasim, who finished third with KRL in the 4th Pakistan Premiership, enhanced the lead to 4-0 in the dying minutes of the first half. The former Pakistan skipper Tanveer Ahmed struck another in the 62nd minute. Three minutes later, Zahid Hameed converted a penalty kick to make it 6-0 and it was left to Qasim to complete his hat-trick with two more goals (72nd and 82nd minutes).

In between, Qasim’s goals, Guam pulled one back through striker James Pangelinan (74th minute) and the 80th minute saw them scoring their second when the Bradford-born Pakistan keeper Iltaf Ahmed found himself in a hopeless situation after his own defenders cut the ball past him.

Upcoming young striker Abdul Rehman came on as substitute for Adnan Farooq Ahmed and completed the rout in the 85th minute with his first international goal.

It was also memorable match for defender Muhammad Ahmed who earned his first cap by substituting Abbas Ali in the 77th minute. Abbas who happens to be the son of the national referee Muhammad Islam, is now one the players in the world to the have the honour of representing the nation at five levels.