KARACHI: Striker Sharjeel Vicky’s double strike guided former champions Pakistan Army to record a 3-0 triumph against the struggling Pakistan Television (PTV), in the Pakistan Premier Football League match held at the Army Sports Complex in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

After the goalless first half, Sialkot boy Vicky showed his class, finding the net twice in the 46th and 63rd minutes, helping his side seal a comfortable victory in their opening match of the second phase.

In the first half both sides played in disciplined fashion, not allowing each other to take control of the game. Army’s wingers Imran Hussain and Sharjeel Vicky looked in fiery mood, tempting the visitors’ defence with incisive rallies but they could not produce a goal due to heroic display from PTV’s goalie Muhammad Rafique.

Rafique saved three open net chances in the first session of play. Till the breather the match was evenly poised at 0-0.

However, in the second half the soldiers’ frontline remained impeccable in their approach, dropping very few chances due to fine penetration. They were soon 1-0 ahead when Sharjeel Vicky headed a cross from defender Majid Khan into the vacant left post. Four minutes later experienced Imran Hussain made it 2-0 for Army after his thunderous drive hit the net after deflecting from the glove of the PTV goalie Muhammad Rafique.

The soldiers kept on putting more pressure on the opposition and they took their lead to 3-0 when Sharjeel struck through his personal effort in the 63rd minute.

The win helped Army to join Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at fourth spot as both have 19 points from ten matches. On the other hand this was the eleventh consecutive loss for PTV in the marathon event so far which shows that they would be one of the two teams who will be relegated to the B Division in the current season. Today’s fixture: Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) v WAPDA at Railways Stadium in Lahore.