Sindh clinch Inter-Provincial U17 football title

KARACHI: International Junaid Ahmed’s second half goal enabled Sindh to win the title when they defeated Islamabad 1-0 in the final of the PSB Inter-Provincial Under-17 Football Championship held at the City Park Ground in Gilgit the other day.

Junaid, who has represented Pakistan in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-13 and Under-14 festivals, hit the winner in the 55th minute.

Sindh coach Mohammad Shabbir was delighted over his team’s win. “Our boys played really well,” Shabbir told ‘The News’ after a hard-earned victory.

“We could have scored more goals but our strikers squandered easy chances. Shaharyar Lassi also missed a penalty in the first half.

I think we should have hit at least 12 goals as in our side 14 players had the experience of playing in the AFC under-age competitions abroad,” Shabbir said.

However, he was quick to add that the uneven ground also prevented his boys from converting chances.

To a question, Shabbir said that there was no time for a camp. “On May 22 we conducted trials and the following day we had to come here. We could not hold even a single day’s camp. There should have been at least a 20-day camp,” the coach said.

Earlier, Balochistan snatched a 7-6 victory over hosts Gilgit Baltistan in penalty shootout to claim bronze medal.