KARACHI, Nov 3: Both the two Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) matches played in Rawalpindi on Monday ended in draws.
Pakistan Steel put up a heroic display to hold Pakistan Army 0-0 at the Army Stadium while PIA recovered to hold KRL 1-1 at KRL Stadium.
The barren Pakistan Steel and Army contest witnessed rough play from both sides as the referee flashed three yellow cards — to Army’s Adnan Bari and Mohammad Ijaz, and Steel’s Mohammad Akram.
Army missed three sure chances through Imran Hussain, Sharjeel Vicky and skipper Babar Mehmood while the last 15 minutes saw Steel fumbling through Abdul Wahab and Mohammad Akmal.
Meanwhile, nine-time national champions PIA came back with relentless force to hold league-leaders KRL to a 1-1 draw.
Striker Mohammad Essa broke the ice in the 21st minute with his sixth goal of the event after Mohammad Qasim and Mohammad Rasool opened the gap for him to run through and beat keeper Bilal Rafiq.
KRL were well-placed for their 11th win, leading 1-0 at interval but PIA’s striker Ali Adeem Shahzad brought new spirit to the side by landing the equaliser in the 57th minute.
Monday’s fixtures: Navy v National Bank of Pakistan at Naval Complex, Islamabad; Pakistan Television v Habib Bank Limited at PSB Ground, Islamabad. Matches kick off at 3.00pm.—Agencies