Chaman to face Quetta in final

KARACHI: Chaman and Quetta set final date when they won their semi-finals of the Balochistan Football Cup at Ayub Stadium, Quetta, on Thursday.

Chaman defeated Loralai 2-0 while hosts Quetta outgunned Turbat 2-1 in the pre-finals, witnessed by a sizeable crowd.

The first semi-final between Chaman and Loralai turned out to be an interesting affair. The former ultimately sealed a comfortable win through strikes from skipper Hayatullah and Abdul Waseh. Hayat gave breakthrough to his side with a superb header at the stroke of half time.

Waseh doubled it with an exquisite effort in the 88th minute.

Loralai could have got the lead in the 23rd minute but Azizullah’s pile-driver from short-range was superbly collected by Chaman’s keeper.

Loralai came close to level the score in the 73rd minute but Chaman’s defender did a fine job to thwart the attempt.

Moments later Loralai were unlucky when Mirullah’s drive crashed the pole.

The semi-final between Quetta and Turbat was also an absorbing affair with both sides offering tough resistance to each other.

Midfielder Behram Khan put Quetta ahead in the 30th minute.

At half time Quetta were leading 1-0.

Soon after the interval Shabbir Taj brought the parity, landing a fine goal.

Istiqlal ensured the hosts’ place in the final with a tricky strike in the 88th minute.

The losing semi-finalists were handed over Rs250,000 each.

As many as 32 outfits featured in the event. The preliminary phase was conducted in the six divisional headquarters of Balochistan.