Chitral beat Chaman’s Muslim Club to win Football Cup

PESHAWAR: Chitral, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Football Cup champions, on Sunday defeated the Balochistan’s leg champions Chaman’s Muslim Club 2-0 in the super final to get the honour of becoming super champions here at the Tehmas Khan Football Stadium.

In a high-voltage outing witnessed by a huge crowd, Chitral showed top resolve right from the start with their frontline pressurising their rivals with incisive rallies from both wings.

Chitral, unlike their final of the KP leg on Saturday against Mardan, looked more organised in their attacks. They were seen using the wings skillfully and that helped them.

Chitral got onto the scoresheet in the 12th minute when Mohammad Yousuf hit a fine header when Muslim FC’s goalkeeper had already been beaten.

After a few minutes, Chitral could have doubled their lead but there was no one who could take Rasool’s fine push in the goalmouth.

In the 23rd minute, Rasool, a discarded international, doubled his team’s lead when he tapped in a super cross from Alhar from the right cordon.

Muslim Club, who left out their three seasoned campaigners replacing them with youngsters, were not seen in their fine element. They tried to inflict a few minor rallies from the left wing but did not utilise the right wing.

Muslim FC, who had the services of Wali Khan who has represented Pakistan Under-16 team, tried to create a solid rally just before the breather but Chitral’s gloveman did a fine job to foil the attack.

In the second half, a fast-paced game was witnessed. Chaman’s Muslim Club also tried to break the shackles in the 55th minute but their striker’s drive crashed the pole and on rebound too they failed to find the net.

Chitral managed a couple of solid rallies and once their player’s diving header just missed the goalpost.

A few minutes later, Muslim Club were awarded a penalty by referee Anwar Khan. Chaman’s player’s drive from the spot crashed the pole and on rebound another player scored a goal which was an illegal attempt but the referee made a blunder to signal for a goal. But he reversed his decision on the protest lodged by Chitral. A player cannot attempt to score from a penalty rebound when a kick from the spot hits the pole. If it is touched by another player then the goal can be scored as per rules.

“We had put three juniors in the side and Chitral had experience of playing on the pitch and it made the difference,” Muslim Club coach Mohammad Essa told ‘The News’.

“But we are happy that we at least played in a charged environment and I hope the fans enjoyed the match,” said Essa, who has the experience of playing in the Premier League.

The winners were handed over a trophy by Ufone’s Amir Pasha. In both the Balochistan and KP legs, around 140 teams showcased their talent.