News Analysis |
The National Bank of Pakistan Football team returned back stronger with their first win of the season at the 12th Pakistan Premier Football League held in Qasim Bagh Stadium, Multan. NBP’s Maqbool set the tone in the first half by scoring the first and only goal against Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) team. The match concluded with 1-0 IN NBP’s favor last Monday night.
NBP’s initial performance at this year’s PPFL was a 0-3 loss at the hand of reigning champions; Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) during their opener taking place last week. KR’s superior strategy allowed it to outclass the NBP players with striker Iftikhar Ali going for the hat trick on the second day of the tournament. Iftikhar Ali led KRL into the eventual lead by scoring his first goal in the 29th minute.
Nasir who is also Pakistan Team’s former coach went on to say that on the whole NBP prioritized its defense strategy and played a low-risk game which turned out to be a success.
By the 35th minute he had successfully netted another goal and completed his hat-trick in the 64th minute of the game. In another match, Afghan FC defeated Baloch (Noshki) 3-2 in a closely embattled match. It began with an electrifying start when Azharuddin scored in the 4th minute, but Saddam Hussain of Afghan FC claimed the equalizer.
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By the 18th minute Ali Khan scored giving the lead to Baloch but an equalizer landed by Umar Daraz in 29th squared both teams offat 2-2. Finally, Abdul Raheem of Afghan FC scored the winning goal in the 37th minute. The remainder of the match dragged on with both teams yielding no more goals.
The NBP was quick to recover from its earlier and entered the playing field with an alternative strategy which yielded better results against PCAA allowing NBP to secure three crucial tournament points. Maqbool, who also played on the Pakistan National Team during the Asian Games held in Indonesia, led his team to victory after scoring a goal with an assist from Sher Ali during the 33rd minute.
NBP’s Maqbool set the tone in the first half by scoring the first and only goal against Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) team. The match concluded with 1-0 IN NBP’s favor last Monday night.
Coach Nasir Ismail lauded his team’s victory stating that it was a much-needed win after a heavy defeat during the first game. During an interview to media sources on Tuesday, Nasir pointed out the changes made and hard work put in by the team over the last few days to overhaul performance.
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Nasir who is also Pakistan Team’s former coach went on to say that on the whole NBP prioritized its defense strategy and played a low-risk game which turned out to be a success.
In the other fixture of the same evening, Navy also rose up to the more dominant challenge of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) securing a 1-1 draw. Sada Bahar of SNGPL put his team into the lead during the 40th minute but Mohammad Amin of Navy leveled it out in the 53rd minute with a spectacular goal which the SNGPL keeper failed to stop.