
KARACHI: Baloch Mujahid pulled off a big upset when they thrashed one of the hot favourites Karachi Kickers by 4-1 in a match of the Premier League Football held here at the CDGK Stadium on Saturday night.
Karachi Kickers, who were leading the table before this match with 13 points from five matches, faced problems against the weakest Baloch Mujahid due to the absence of three key players including midfielder Muhammad Khan, striker and captain Zeeshan Tara and defender Mehmood Khan. Baloch, who could manage their first win from six meetings looked in fiery fashion but missed three open net chances by their strikers Umar Bakhsh and Muhammad Nadeem in the initial 21 minutes of play. However, Irfan Junejo provided Karachi Kickers a lead in 29th minute when he splendidly guided a slow push from midfielder Ammar Sharif.
At half time Karachi Kickers were leading with 1-0. The second half saw Baloch Mujahid’s frontline inflicting merciless rallies and it was the captain Taj Muhammad who brought an equalizer with a thunderous drive from 20 yards. Nine minutes later Umar Bakhsh compensated for his previous two open missed chances in the first half, hitting the net from the edge of the circle, putting Baloch Mujahid 2-1 ahead.
In 75th minute, Umar Bakhsh further consolidated Baloch Mujahid’s position through his second consecutive strike. The only powerful rally came from Karachi Kickers three minutes before final whistle but Ammar Sharif’s mistimed shot went off the target. In the last minute Baloch Mujahid took their tally to the decisive 4-1 through a fantastic field effort from Fahim Abbas on a cross from Shehzad Majid.
The win helped Baloch Mujahid to open their account with three points from six meetings while the loss dropped Karachi Kickers to the second spot as they have 13 points from six matches.
In other match, Sharafi Mohammadan were given walk over after their opponents Shehzad Mohammadan turned up the venue quite late. The walk over helped Sharafi Mohammadan elevate to the top spot with 14 points from six matches while Shehzad Mohammadan have eight points from six appearances.
Nazimabad FC were scheduled to face Maymar Sports while Lal Bakhsh Memorial were to take on Usmanabad Union on Sunday night.