Rasool propels KRL to win : Navy fail to end hoodoo against NBP

LAHORE - The 39th and 40th matches of Pakistan Premier Soccer League 2008 were completed at Karachi Tuesday. Muhammad Rasool finally stamped authority with hat-trick as KRL routed KESC 5-1 at Peoples Stadium while NBP hit last-minute leveller to draw Pakistan Navy 1-1 at CDGK Stadium. Navy failed to end hoodoo against NBP when they conceded last gasp goal through striker Muhammad Asif . NBP maintained unbeaten record against Navy,  victorious in five of the six previous encounters while other tie ended in 0-0 draw. Striker Muhammad Basharat stopped his 4-match goal drought when he  surged seamen ahead in the 13th minute. Last edition's leading scorer for Navy Sajjad Ahmed got to the byline in the bank area. The shortly-built winger pulled the ball back to Basharat who blasted his shot past bemused keeper Amir Gul. Navy led 1-0 at interval and kept it alive till full time but Asif rescued the Nasir Ismail team with injury time strike that left keeper Muhammad Shahzad stranded.  It was NBP's seventh match who pocketed six points so far while Navy grabbed five points from four games. Smart-looking Chitral-born striker Muhammad Rasool (KRL) tore apart  KESC's defence in first half with two goals and an assist as Rawalpindi-based team led 3-0 at interval. Lanky winger Muhammad Qasim opened the scoring in the 17th minute when he pushed the ball into net after Rasool's fierce drive rebounded off keeper's legs. Rasool was himself the executor in the 37th minute when he left behind row of markers to steer the ball in - the 100th goal of the ongoing show (2007 edition saw 448 in 182 matches). SAF Games 2006 gold medallist Rasool, who stunned Japanese with breath-taking goal in 15th Asian Games at Doha two years ago, put the match beyond KESC's reach in the 40th minute when his immense-power 30-metre scorcher beat keeper all ends up.   Rasool continued his fine form and completed hat-trick in the 52nd minute. KESC 's skipper Akber Ali reduced the deficit through 62nd minute spot-kick but young winger Abid Khan restored KRL's 4-goal advantage with 69th minute goal. The six-goal thriller also had a bad patch when Referee Jehangir Khan had shown Red Cards to internationals Farhan Abdul Qadir (Navy) and Misbah Ul Hassan (NBP). The previous four matches between two sides surprisingly produced only two goals in 360 minutes, with one win for each team and two scoreless draws. KESC secured ten points from seven matches while KRL took eight points from four outings. Wednesday (13 August) Fixtures KPT v WAPDA (5.30 PM : CDGK Stadium, Karachi), HBL v Army (5.30 PM : Peoples Stadium, Karachi), ABBREVIATED RESULTS TODAY CDGK Stadium, Karachi NBP 1 (Muhammad Asif 90)  Navy 1 (Muhammad Basharat 13) Peoples Stadium, Karachi KESC 1 (Akber Ali 62) KRL 5 (Muhammad Rasool  3 - 37,40,52  Muhammad Qasim 17, Abid Khan 69)

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