KFL 2010-11: Young Ansari through to next round at expense of Karachi United

The 8th Karachi Football League 2010-11 saw the completion of its 90 scheduled group stage games on Saturday 12 March 2011 at Baloch Mujahid Stadium in Ibrahim Hyderi, Karachi. The final two Group 'A' games saw Young Ansari fight hard to capitalise on Karachi United's defeat to qualify for quarter-finals at the expense of the much-fancied KFL organisers.

Hameed Afridi (Young Ansari)

The already qualified Baloch Mujahid showed their class as they raced to a 2-0 lead within 50 minutes thanks to goals by Muhammad Hanif and Muhammad Rizwan. Rehan Munir put one in for Karachi United with 15 minutes left, but Umer Bakhsh broke KUFC hearts as he made it 3-1 in 80th minute. A stoppage time goal by Usman Iqbal was not enough for Karachi United, who needed at least a point to have the advantage over Young Ansari, as they lost 3-2 in the end.
The next game saw Hameed Afridi in inspirational form for Young Ansari as he scored his 2nd hat-trick of the tournament with a 4 goal burst against the hard working Malir Union side as he helped his side win 4-3 at the end in a tense encounter. Despite having nothing to play for but pride, Malir Union gave Young Ansari a very tough time but failed to deal with KFL top scorer Hameed Afridi as goals from Sheraz Khan, Muhammad Asif and Abid Ali could not stop Young Ansari from qualifying to the next round.
Hameed Afridi now tops the KFL 2010-11 goal scoring charts with 13 goals ahead of Kalri Star's Muhammad Habib who now is 2nd with 12 goals. The results left Baloch Mujahid top Group 'A', Young Ansari in 2nd, Chanesar Blue 3rd, and Baloch Youth Garden in 4th place, while Group 'B' sees Kalri Star top, Mauripur Baloch 2nd, Al-Shabaz Korangi 3rd, and Shazad Mohammadan 4th.
The quarter finals will be played on 13-15 March, semi-finals on 20th March, and final on 27th March alongside 3rd place game the same day.
8th KARACHI FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2010-2011
Venue: Baloch Mujahid Stadium - Ibrahim Hydri
MATCH NO.89
Baloch Mujahid defeated Karachi United 3-2 (1-0)
Baloch Mujahid 3: M. Hanif 16, M. Rizwan 50, Umer Bakhsh 80
Karachi United 2: Rehand Munir 76, Usman Iqbal 91
Man of the Match M. Hanif (Baloch Mujahid)
MATCH NO.90
Young Ansari beat Malir Union 4-3 (3-2)
Young Ansari 4: Hameed Afridi (4) 29,35,40,58
Malir Union 3: Sheraz Khan 28, Mohammad Asif 39, Abid Ali 83
Man of the Match Hameed Afridi of Young Ansari. Hameed Afridi top scorer of 13 goals including two hat tricks.
Baloch Mujahid, Young Ansari, Chanesar Blue and Baloch Youth Garden qualfied for Quarter final from Group 'A' while Kalri Star, Mauripur Baloch, Al-Shabaz Korangi and Shazad Mohammadan Malir from Group 'B'.
Quarter Finals
1. Mauripur Baloch vs Chanesar Blue on 13.3.2011
2. Baloch Mujahid vs Shazad Mohammadan on 13.3.2011
3. Kalri Star Lyari vs Baloch Youth Garden on 14.3.2011 at 4:00 pm
4. Al-Shabaz Korangi vs Young Ansari on 15.3.2011 at 4:00 pm
RIAZ AHMED - 0300-3926092

Breaking News ! Zesh Rehman joins Thai champions Muangthong United

Thailand Premier League champions Muangthong United signed Bradford City defender Zesh Rehman, 27. He played two season in the Premier League for Fullham then decided to sign a contract with "The Kirins" and terminated a contract with Bradford in January.

General Manager of Muangthong United Mr. Ronnarit Suewaja said "This is another successful for our club by the signing a good player. Zesh Rehman played more than 200 games in the English League and play two season in the Premier League. He played for England U-20 along with Carlton Cole and Nigel Reo-Coker also his leadership as he is a captain for Bradford and Pakistan international.

He hold two citizenships and allows to play AFC Champions League in the Asia quota and will be the most expensive wages for the club. It has not been paying too much when considering that he wants to play for Muangthong. I am confident that the 27-year-old eager to win and want to help the team go to the next level. And Muangthong also close to sign new 2-3 top players soon ".

While Rehman said that he is very excited to join with the Thailand Premier League champions and this is the new challenges. He play in the English League for 10 years and join Fullham academy since the age of 9 years old. He rejected offers from many English clubs to join Muangthong. He went to Yamaha stadium and ensure that all the players in the team want to become the best in Asia. He wants to work hard for Muangthong also for the fans. He can"t wait to play in the new season, meet with his team-mates, coach and the supporters.

Zeshan "Zesh" Rehman; born 14 October 1983. He started his career at Fulham and made a total of 21 league appearances. During his time at Fulham he had loan spells at Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City. In 2005 he switched allegiances to Pakistan from England. A transfer to Queens Park Rangers followed and he went on to make 46 appearances for the west London-based club. During his three year stint there he went on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackpool and Bradford City. The third transfer of his career involved him moving to Bradford on a free transfer in June 2009. So far Rehman has made eight appearances for the Pakistan national team and has participated in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers. Outside of football he is known for being an ambassador for Kick It Out, the Asian Football Network and the Show Racism The Red Card campaign. In addition to this he has appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra and writes a blog for Setanta Sports.

fourth AFC Challenge Cup

Chinese Taipei clear play-off: meet Pakistan on 25 March

Lahore, 20 February: Chinese Taipei booked their ticket to the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers and clash with Pakistan on 25 March after a 1-1 draw with Laos in the second-leg of their pre-qualifying playoff sealed a 6-3 aggregate win for the East Asians. Pakistan are in Group B and their other matches will be against India (23 March) and Turkmenistan (21 March). All three matches will be held at Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Laos were left with a proverbial mountain to climb following their 5-2 first-leg defeat in Chinese Taipei and things were to get worse for the ASEAN side when Chen Po-Liang made it two goals in two matches with a 65th minute opener. Vongchiengkham Soukaphone reduced arrears with eight minutes left to play but it was too little too late for Laos, who were reduced to ten men after substitute Konekham Inthammavong – who only entered the field in the 72nd minute – was sent off after being booked in the 80th and 86th minutes.

Meanwhile at Estádio Campo Desportivo, Taipa, Sam El Nasa’s extra-time winner sealed Cambodia’s place in the qualifiers as the ASEAN side advanced with a 5-4 aggregate win over Macau. El Nasa scored twice as the Cambodians won 3-1 in the first-leg in Phnom Penh before a goal from Thailand-based striker Khim Borey on the stroke of half-time extended their advantage. Cambodia appeared to be cruising until Macau levelled the tie with three goals in the space of 13 minutes.

Vernon Wong’s 62nd minute strike sparked Macau’s fight back before Leong Ka Hang – scorer of the former Portuguese colony’s crucial away goal in the first leg – added a 73rd minute second. Just two minutes later the contest was all square courtesy of Vinicio de Jesus Morais Alves but Macau couldn’t capitalise on their dominance and the match went into extra-time, where it was settled by El Nasa’s 107th minute winner. Cambodia’s victory places them in qualification Group C where they will face inaugural Challenge Cup champions Tajikistan, the Maldives and Kyrgyzstan.

Chinese Taipei and Laos were two of the eight lowest-ranked teams out of 20, which entered the fray, played off on a home-and-away basis and the four winners will qualify for the 16-team group phase. The other two play-offs Philippines vs Mongolia and Bhutan/Afghanistan will be decided next month.
Draws of AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers

Group-A at Yangon ( Myanmar)

21 March : Myanmar v Mongolia/Philippines, Palestine v Bangladesh

23 March : Palestine v Mongolia/Philippines, Bangladesh v Myanmar

25 March: Myanmar v Palestine, Bangladesh v Mongolia/Philippines

Group B at Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia)

21 March: Pakistan v Turkmenistan, India v Chinese Taipei

23 March: Pakistan v India, Chinese Taipei v Turkmenistan

25 March: Turkmenistan v India, Pakistan v Chinese Taipei

Group C at Male ( Maldives)

21 March: Tajikistan v Kyrgyzstan, Maldives v Cambodia

23 March: Kyrgyzstan v Maldives, Cambodia v Tajikistan

25 March: Tajikistan v Maldives, Cambodia v Kyrgyzstan

Group D at Kathmandu ( Nepal)

7 April : North Korea v Sri Lanka, Nepal v Afghanistan/Bhutan

9 April : Sri Lanka v Afghanistan/Bhutan, Nepal v North Korea

11 April :North Korea v Afghanistan/Bhutan, Nepal v Sri Lanka

Modern FC Hyderabad to tour Nawabshah from 11 March

Modern FC Hyderabad accepted the invite of renowned national football organiser Master Riasat Ali to undertake a friendly tour of Nawabshah from 11th March 2011. According to Master Riasat, Modern FC will begin its tour of Nawabshah at Municipal High School Ground with a game against Moment FC. Chairman of DFA Dadu, Ali Haider Jamali, will be chief guest for that game.

Modern FC will then face Pak Sports on 12 March for its second tour game. Pak Sports' patron Azad Petiwala will be chief guest for that game. Both matches will be organised by Jameel Ahmed Qureshi, vice-chairman of District Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah).

The names of players that will face Modern FC during their tour games have also been announced.

Players taking part for Moment FC will be captain Nasir Qureshi, Shakir Qureshi, Faqir Ahmed Qureshi, Salman Qureshi, Abdul Qadeer, Zeeshan, Kashif, Arshi Qureshi, Sabir Qureshi, Murtaza Baloch, Qayyum, Ayub, Naqash and Rizwan, while Jameel Qureshi shall be coach and Master Riasat the manager.

Pak Sports players will be Arsalan (captain), Faizan, Junaid, Nasir Shah, Fida Hussain, Rashid, Hashmat, Kashif Jr., Dr Rizwan, Mohsin, Azmat, and Shazad while manager will be Eng. Aamir.

Adil Nabi signs pro contract with EPL side West Brom

British-Pakistani talent Adil Nabi from the West Bromwhich Albion FC youth academy and England youth international has signed a professional contract with the EPL side aged just 17 years old. The news was announced on the West Brom official website
Adil Nabi has today been rewarded for his progress with his first professional contract.

The 17-year-old Academy product has penned a two-year Albion deal to keep him at The Hawthorns until June 2013, with a further year's option in the club's favour.

It crowns an outstanding year for the Birmingham-born striker, who has become a regular in the England set-up.

Baggies sporting & technical director Dan Ashworth said: "I'm delighted Adil has signed his first pro contract.

"It highlights the hard work he and his family have put in and is another step on the ladder to him hopefully getting in and around the first team.

"I remember Adil playing for our reserves as a 14-year-old in a pre-season match at Hereford.

"We're really pleased with the progress he has made and hope it will continue over the next few years.

"It also reflects all the hard work the Academy continue to do by nurturing another young player onto a pro contract."

Nabi joined the club as an eight-year-old and has scored goals at every level.This term he has smashed eight goals in 13 FA Premier Academy League games.

He came off the bench to fire the winner in the Baggies' 2-1 Barclays Premier Reserve League win at Everton in October and has started three of the last four second-string games for the club.

Nabi captained Albion to the Nike Premier Cup in April 2009 before being selected for England Under-16s six months later.He made two appearances against Wales and Northern Ireland in the successful 2009/10 Victory Shield campaign.The first of his seven appearances at Under-17s level could not have gone any better as he scored twice in a minute to help England thrash Finland 5-0 en route to winning the Nordic Tournament in the summer.

Pakistan, Palestine facilitate ball-boys for commendable display

Lahore, 2 March: The officials /players of Pakistan and Palestine and match Technical officials have appreciated the untiring effort of ball-boys who were seen in action during the First Test match between two countries at Punjab Stadium, Lahore on Tuesday.

"They put up fine show and their timely throw-in into the pitch and retrieval was praiseworthy and second to none. Five years ago, the same coach Sheikh Mohammad Siddique Qadri of Lahore provided the 16 ball boys for Pakistan-Jordan Asian Cup match from the platform of Garhi Shahue Football Academy (GSFA). The best among them was pocket-size Muhammad Abu Zar Khan who himself looks alike a football. His dedication, commitment was appreciable and it convinced me to announce cash prize from my pocket," said PFF Marketing Director Sardar Naveed Haider Khan, who joined PFF nine days before that match against Jordan and decorated the stadium with his characteristic style. “Later on, two of them Wahab Mehmood, Naveed Sadiq represented Pakistan in AFC U13 Festival of Football at Bangladesh 2007.”

Siddique Qadri, an international, who himself played against Palestine eleven years ago and who assisted AFC Instructor Mike Wong Mun Heng (Singapore) in the AFC B-Certificate Football Coaching Course 2006 at FIFA Football House, Lahore once again provided the ball boys. He also trained ball boys who were appointed by PFF for 29th Olympics Games Qualifiers ( Pakistan v Singapore, Pakistan v Bahrain), third AFC President’s Cup and Pakistan-Iraq World Cup Qualifier at same arena in 2007.

"To groom young boys of around eight is not an easy job but I achieved my goal in full cooperation from another AFC AID 27 coach Muhammad Rasheed. I did my effort with day/night efficiency and it is not a mere achievements for me as my boys won the heart of PFF's top-brass, and even Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi and Palestine coach Mouzza Bezaz appreciated the work of youngsters.'

"My gratification and thanks to PFF President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat for giving my boys opportunity to show their progress on Punjab Stadium pitch once again. The heroic work of PFF boss for soccer promotion will be remembered ever. Myself will continue to support PFF whenever they would call us," said Qadri who represented Pakistan  in 12th Asian Cup football at Doha, Qatar in 2000. British coaches John Layton and David Burn picked him for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)'s showpiece event which speaks of his quality.

The twenty ballboys, trained by AFC AID 27 coaches Muhammad Rasheed and Siddiq Qadri were Bilal Waheed, Zohaib, Saad, Talha, Harris, Mehroz, Jeery, Anil, Waleed, Bukhtiar, Qamar, Taimur, Sami Ullah, Kamran, Hammad, Nauman, Kabir, Usman, Irfan and Ghias on Tuesday.

Tariq Lutfi calls eight overseas players: Zesh Rehman is most exciting central defender of South Asia

Lahore, 11 March : “I am sure that Zeshan Rehman (Muangthong United FC, Thailand) and Atif Bashir (Barry Town FC, Wales) together are rated as most exciting central defenders in South Asia. Atif was outstanding during Colombo’s AFC Challenge Cup 2009 while I was really impressed with the potential of Zeeshan during SAFF Championship 2005. Zesh had never represented Pakistan under my coaching but I have records that he played SAFF Championship brilliantly at Karachi six years ago under Bahraini coach Salman Shareeda and missed the next at Maldives last year due to food poising. This defender, favorites to join me for coming AFC Challenge Cup mission alongwith Atif, has enormous talent and enough capability to re-join Pakistan after playing his last international for Pakistan at Syria two years ago, blocking all Iraqis attacks in World Cup Qualifier 0-0 draw” this is stated by Pakistan National team Tariq Lutfi who was manager of Pakistan team in 2005 when Zeshan made international debut for Pakistan.  Pakistan will take on Turkmenistan (21 March), India (23 March) and Chinese Taipei (25 March) in Group-B encounters of 4th AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers at Kuala Lumpur. “Due to his Pakistani parentage, and because he possessed dual Pakistani and British nationality, Rehman qualified to represent Pakistan, and he eventually opted to play for them, as he considered it to be a more realistic option.”added PFF’s Secretary General Lt.Col ® Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi.  Nicknames Zesh, he is an English Pakistani football defender who was the first British Asian to start a Barclays Premier League match and is the first to have played in all four divisions of professional football in England. He was the first Pakistani international footballer to play professional football in England. He is now with Muangthong United FC, a Thai football club based in Nonthaburi Province and owned by Siam Sport Syndicate and others private investors. The club currently play in the Thai Premier League.  “I watched him play for Pakistan against four teams in SAFF 2005 when the team conceded only a goal (that too on penalty) in 360 minutes. But I have to take more time to see Birmingham-born defender in more actions so that his actual competency could be known as far as representation of national team is concerned with battery of domestic/home players. He joined Thai team after 2009-10 season with Bradford City, scoring two goals in 48 matches,” added Tariq who called eight overseas players Yousof Ejaz Butt (Birkerod IF Skjold, Denmark), Atif Bashir Qureshi (Barry Town, Wales), Reis Ashraf (Buckingham Town FC), Yaqoob Ijaz Butt (Herlev Idrætsforening FC, Denmark), Zeeshan Rehman (Muangthong United FC, Thailand), Irfan Khan (Bradford Park Avenue Association Football Club, England), Kashif Mumtaz Siddiqui (Fresno Fuego, USA ), Adnan Farooq Ahmed (Aboomoslem FC, Iran) to join 29 home-grown booters.  Rehman signed a two-year deal with Thai side on 19 December 2010, making debut debut 41 days later in the King's Trophy against Chonburi Sharks at the Suphachalasai Stadium. His appearance made him the first British Asian and Pakistan international to play in Thailand.  Zesh, now 27, praised Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat’s directives to ask Tariq monitor the overseas footballers of Pakistani origin who are interested in playing for Pakistan and also those who have already played for Pakistan but are still unknown.  “I will never forget 7 December 2005 when I made international debut for Pakistan against Lankans at Karachi’s Peoples Sports Complex during 6th SAFF championship. You have to dream big and remember anything is possible with hard work, faith and belief. Pakistan conceded only one goal during four games of the event. I also want to see the whole infrastructure of Pakistani football improve and see more players from other countries decide to represent Pakistan. My ambitions for Pakistan are to reach last 32 of World Cup one day Insha Allah. Hopefully, we can achieve this while I am still a player, if not then I would love to be the coach that does it.  “Football on Thai soil is going fine, I am gaining more experience all the time and previously have worked under nine managers and played for six English clubs Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Blackpool and Bradford city during last seven years. In terms of gaining more experience it was exactly what I needed and one of the reasons I moved around England from 2004 to 2010. Now I am Thai club player under Portugal-born coach Henrique Manuel da Silva Calisto.

Sloppy Pakistan give Malaysia second round ticket

Pakistan's defender Alamgir Khan (green shirt) and Malaysia's mid-fielder Zaharulnizam Zakaria fight for ball during the FIFA Olympics Football tournament 2012 preliminary round at the Punjab football stadium in Lahore on March 9, 2011

LAHORE: Pakistan missed four open scoring chances and only managed a goalless draw against Malaysia in the Olympics football qualifier played at the Punjab Stadium here on Tuesday night.

However, the Malaysians requiring just a draw went through to the next round of the qualifiers on the basis of their 2-0 win against Pakistan in the first leg at home held on Feb 23.

Pakistan, on the other hand, needed to beat the visitors by 2-0 margin to remain in the line for the qualifiers but could not achieve it here.

Although Pakistan constantly attacked the opponents but missed at least four definite goal-scoring chances which proved costly in the end.

Malaysia, while failing to make much impact initially, looked a very dangerous side in the five minute injury-time but missed out three chances in a row in front of a sizeable crowd of around 7,000.

The visitors got a penalty in the 6th minute but failed to find the net. Two minutes later, Pakistan launched its first attack through right wing which also missed.

In the 16th minute, a rough tackling caused mild injury to Malaysian Thamil Arsa Ambumamee, but he soon resumed the game after receiving first aid. In the 17th minute Pakistan staged a superb comeback attack but Rizwan Asif faltered near the scoring area.

In the 22nd minute, Mohammad Adil of Pakistan reached close to giving his team the lead when he dodged past the Malaysian defenders to reach the goal with only goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat in his way. But he could not pierce the goalie’s defenses and the match remained at 0-0.

In the 25th minute, Malaysian missed a corner but the hosts bounced back with a fine move in the 27th minute but Pakistan captain Jadeed Khan Pathan’s kick went over the bar.

In the 35th minute, the defensive Malaysia team launched a try through Mohd Fandi Othman but he could not control the ball and wasted a definite scoring chance. Two minutes later, Malaysia raided through Shanmugem Sivaneasan but poor finishing deprived them of a goal again.

In the second half, the Malaysians started briskly but Ambumamee’s kick from almost 30-yard went over the bar.

Pakistan’s Adil then missed a chance in the 50th minute when he could not perfectly balance a header and hit waywardly.

As soon as the injury-time started, Malaysian came back strongly in the game with a lot of energy and fire and made three consecutive tries but failed to find the net.

“You cannot produce a good result with a 50-day preparation camp,” Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi said in the post-match briefing.

“We managed to get a few chances and I am happy with the way the boys played so open against a tough side,” he added.

Pakistan vs Palestine 4th March 2011 [LIVE UPDATES]

 5  minutes before kick-off: Pakstani National anthem, stand up!!!

FULL TIME: Pakistan 0-0 Palestine. GOAL LESS IT ENDS. Pakistan and Palestine play out a stalemate in the Peoples Stadium, Lyari, in the 2nd and the last friendly of the Pakistan-Palestine football series. Palestine had more possession but the Pakistan defence was far better than in previous games and shut them short. Pakistan were good on counters and long-balls and had 2-3 great chances to win the game.

Special thanks to Maaz and Syed Ali Wasim for the updates from the ground.

90+3': A last minute shot by Pakistan is saved by the Palestine Goal Keeper. It was almost a great victory.

88': OMER's REDEMPTION: A through ball to ABU BELAL finds him one on one. Omer with FLASH-ISQUE speed comes out and falls to slide to the ball and saves the game. Belal gets a Yellow card for an outstretched leg.

86': Disastor!!! ALMOST! Ghazanfar's back pass goes through the feet of Muhammad Omer, the goalie rushes and slides to save himself from embarrassment! embarrassed still...

85': AWESOME STUFF: Arif Hussien blasts a volley from WOAH 30 yards which misses being the winning goal by mere inches. GAME ON!!

81': Paksitan substitution: On a goal drought lasting as many matches as the fingers on both of my hands KaleemUllah comes on for captain Jadeed Khan. Lets see if he can score.

80': Muhammad Omer looks injured on the floor. 'NOT SO DR.' kamran mehdi treats him and he looks in pain but still is playing. Amir Gul is warming up meanwhile

76': The game and updates are coming in at a CRAZY pace right now. Only just on the field, Jabreen coming close with a curler...

75': Pakistan Substitution: Ghanzanfar Abbass coming on for Ahsan Ullah, well played Ahsan!

73': Can't Reach! The Palestinian GK comes off the line to deny Rizwan's hopes of lashing on to a through ball to get Pakistan infront.

72': Fresh Legs: Palestine substitution. Muhammad Jabreen comes on to freshen things up in place of Iyad Ghardood.

CAN PAKISTAN DO IT??? COMMENT!!! Thanks to Khurram Suleman for the picture below...

Somebody once asked Muhammad Adil of KRL his height, he replied shorter than you standing, dwarf you in a jump!

65': Living dangerously: Alamgir Yellow card for a bad tackle on the Palestine forward.

64': Pakistani team hears our fans chants and responds with a great attack that sees Mehmood Khan smacking the ball just over the bar. The first real chance Pakistan has had in the second half.

60': Palestine all out on the attack now, they are coming in for the KILL (funny to use the word). A run from their RM leads to a corner which is just cleared by our Water-tight defence!!! COME ON PAKISTAN!!!

55': Omer with a great save, the Palestinian striker Abu Belal (who scored in Lahore) hitting the ball from inside the area after neat touches only to see OMER REJECTING HIM!

After much delay here is the Palestine squad: Muhammad A.M. Shbair, Khalid A.K. Mehdi, Samer M.A. Helsi, Khader Abu Hammad, Ashraf Alfawaghra, Hussam R.S. Wadi, Murad R.M. Said, Iyad Gharhoud, Shatarat Muhammad, Hussam Abu Saleh, Atef Abu Belal.

49': Palestine get a dangerous looking free kick right outside the Pakistan box, straight into the wall.

46': The second half is under-way at the peoples stadium in Karachi.

FPDC Editor Gauhar Mahmood Azeem, ''From what I can learn from our correspondents at the stadium, the game is quite similar to the Lahore tie. BUT we have not conceded the 2 early goals that we gave away in Lahore. The counter attacking, long ball style has repeated itself and Palestine are getting good possession on the ball but the stronger defence today from our side has limited them. TAUSEEF's injury, yet to be assessed, could mean he can be out of the Malaysia game on the 9th of March, which will be NO GOOD NEWS. Pakistan might win this one, you never know.''

Half Time: The first half comes to an end with Palestine dominating the possession and fast wing play. Pakistan with some neat counter attacks and LONG BALLS. Lots to sort out for Lutfi and Nasir.

45': AhsanUllah crashes into Suleman Ubaid and flattens him. AhsanUllah gets booked for his tackle.

45': Pakistan claim for a penalty after a ball hits the Palestinian defender in the box. No handball says the referee.

42': The game has died down a bit, NO SHOT ON TARGET FOR THE FIRST 40 MINUTES EITHER SIDE. The game needs some spark, and Tauseef needs a doctor.

Correction thanks to Ali Khanani on the field, Tauseef is injured not Alamgir!

The transporters strike in Karachi has severely affected the crowd for today's game.

35': Substitution: Abu Hammad comes on for Al Alhendi for Palestine, TACTICS.

33': Both teams cross from the RW onto the keepers in quick succession.

26': Substitution Pakistan: Arif Hussien comes on for Pakistan after an unfortunate injury to Tauseef. OUCH!

21': Rizwan clean through on goal, Whistle, OFF-SIDE!

17': A long range curler from Jadeed Khan, 25 yards, hits the side netting. CLOSE! come on Captain!

14': Pakistan get a throw in near the Palestine area. Palestine counter, 2 v 2!!! He shoots wide, LUCKY PAKISTAN. The Palestinians bypass the Pakistan midfield like anything.

8': Palestine possession breaks into a Pakistan counter which sees Rizwan charging on the Palestine defence only to be stopped from the last man.

Pakistan Team: Starting Line-Up: Muhammad Omer, Jadeed Khan, Rizwan, Alamgir,  Manzoor, Ahsan Ullah, Tauseef,  Adil, Mehmood Khan, Saddam Hussien, Faisal Iqbal

Substitutes: Amir Gul, KaleemUllah, Arif Hussein, Ubaid, Qaid

1': A Pakistan long free-kick straight into the Palestinian keepers hands.

0': Match has kicked off and still the media hasn't received the team sheets. Alas!