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Karachi United ended the first phase of
the League campaign with a 3-0 drubbing
from Baluch Mujahid as they suffered a
second consecutive loss.
Having already been assured of passage
to the second phase after their first
seven matches, the loss to Chanesar was
followed up by another sub par display
against Baluch Mujahid.
KU continued to be without top marksman,
Daniyal Alvi and were also missing the
likes of Furkan Ali. With skipper Hamza
Khan also not 100%, he did not start and
veteran defender, Bilal Mehdi replaced
him in the starting line-up.
The initial part of the game was a cagey
affair with both teams content to slug
it out in the middle of the park.
However, it was B.Mujahid that showed
greater attacking intent and created the
early chances. In the 22nd
minute, a series of errors resulted in
the opening goal. The first saw the
offside trap being easily broken and the
Mujahid forward surged clear but just as
it seemed goalie, Shahnawaz would clear
the danger, a further error on his part
saw the Mujahid tap the ball towards the
empty net; however, Bilal chasing back
seemed to have reached in time but his
left footed clearance saw the ball crash
into the goal.
Shahnawaz seemed to have atoned for his
error a few minutes later, when the
Mujahid right winger seizing on Ali
Haider being caught high up the pitch,
raced through but his shot was well
saved by the KU goalie.
KU reacted after that but were unable to
create clear cut scoring chances.
Finally, in the 38th minute,
Shahrukh Chaudhary made an inspired run
down the right flank and sent in a
beautiful low telling cross to the near
post. Taha Alizai made a good run but
completely missed the ball and from the
follow-up, both Kareem Kerai and Usman
‘K’ Iqbal also missed from 6 and 5 yards
out respectively.
B.Mujahid made KU pay for that miss as
rather than going into the break 1-1, in
the 43rd
minute, another defensive lapse
saw the Mujahid forward through and a
clinical finish meant Mujahid going into
the break two goals up.
The second half saw KU make a real fight
of the game. With both teams already
through to the next stage, Mujahid also
played an open game and countless
scoring opportunities were created at
both ends. Early on in the piece,
Shahnawaz pulled off another good point
blank save.
With KU knocking the ball around with
greater confidence, further chances were
created by the likes of Shahrukh and
Kareem but on each occasion the
finishing touch was missing. Twice,
Usman got into excellent positions but
could not get the crucial touch;
Kareem’s shot was blocked off; Shahrukh,
Taha and Usman’s neat passing move on
the edge of the box resulted in an Usman
cross whiz past the six yard box but
there was no one there to tap it in.
Just as it looked like KU would get one
back, on the counter, substitute Hamza
Khan (playing his 300th game)
was adjudged to have fouled the
opposition forward and a penalty was
awarded much to the dismay of the KU
players, as it had been an entanglement
rather than a foul, quite apart from
doubts as to whether the initial contact
was inside or outside the box. However,
in the end, the resultant penalty was
coolly dispatched by the Mujahid player
and they were three goals to the good in
the 69th minute.
The last 20 minutes saw end to end
football with KU players again getting
into good scoring positions but missing
the clinical finish. Shahnawaz, Jibran
Fawad and the other defenders also
ensured that there were no further goals
on the other end but with the match
petering out, the KU players appeared
more despondent and frustrated.
Eventually, the referee blew the final
whistle and KU could take heart from the
fact that the last two matches did not
impact their title aspirations but they
need to go back to their ‘A’ game for
the next phase.
Player Ratings:
Shahnawaz Raj--6.25
Jibran Fawad--6.50
Moiz Salahuddin–6.50
Bilal Mehdi--6.00
subbed with Hamza Khan–6.25
Ali Haider--6.50
Shahrukh
Chaudhary--6.50
Atif Sachak--6.50
Kareem Kerai--6.50
Usman Iqbal--6.50
Shaezer R. Azmat--6.50
Taha Alizai--6.25
Star Player: None
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