KRL enter AFC Cup final round
KARACHI: Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) blasted their way into the final round after holding the defending champions Chinese Taipei’s Taiwan Power Company to a goalless draw in their Group A match of the AFC President’s Cup at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore on Saturday night.
This was the second goalless draw from KRL as their tie with Mongolia’s Erchim FC had also ended in a stalemate on May 8.
The result sent Mongolia’s Erchim FC out as they ended with just a single point. Taiwan Power Company finished as the group leaders with four points, followed by KRL with two points.
Both join the Group B’s leading teams, the two-time defending champions Dordoi Dynamo from Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia’s Phnom Pen Crown FC, and the Group C winners, Tajikistan’s Istiklal FC and runners-up Al Ammari Youth Club from Palestine.
The six-team finals will be held in September at a venue yet to be decided.
KRL-Taiwan Power Company showdown remained tough as both sides, particularly the visitors, played in mature manner.
KRL’s finishing once again turned out to be unproductive as their strikers, including internationals Kaleemullah, Mohammad Qasim and Saddam Hussain, squandered a few easy chances that came their way.
Keeper Saqib Hanif, who only recently signed up for KRL, once again showed his class by saving two sure goals in an acrobatic fashion, one in each half.
KRL coach Tariq Lutfi looked a relieved man after the game. “Thanks God, we finally qualified for the finals,” Tariq told ‘The News’. “Had we not played a poor first game against Mongolia’s Erchim FC we could have finished more strongly,” added Tariq, also a former Pakistan coach.
He admitted that the opposition was more mature. “Yes, our rivals played a mature game but I would say that the match was evenly poised as we also got several chances but failed to convert them,” the coach conceded. “We were very cautious about the result. And had our rivals scored a goal against us, it could have been very dangerous for us,” he said.
He said that he was satisfied with his team’s overall performance. “Although we had problems in finishing, overall the result was satisfactory as we played well against a side which has to its credit 14 national titles. The output against them has instilled confidence in the players and now we are confident that we could go ahead in the finals as well,” Tariq remarked.
But Tariq wants his team to be better prepared for the final round. “I now feel that we need tough training ahead of the finals along with international exposure to the team. Although I cannot say that our management will be in a position to give us a foreign tour ahead of our next round’s matches, I will definitely suggest to them that the players need international grooming,” said Tariq, who joined KRL last year after retiring from PIA. “Our players are weak in fighting zone and we will have to work on finishing so that the delivery could be improved. The players need extensive counseling,” he said.
This was the second goalless draw from KRL as their tie with Mongolia’s Erchim FC had also ended in a stalemate on May 8.
The result sent Mongolia’s Erchim FC out as they ended with just a single point. Taiwan Power Company finished as the group leaders with four points, followed by KRL with two points.
Both join the Group B’s leading teams, the two-time defending champions Dordoi Dynamo from Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia’s Phnom Pen Crown FC, and the Group C winners, Tajikistan’s Istiklal FC and runners-up Al Ammari Youth Club from Palestine.
The six-team finals will be held in September at a venue yet to be decided.
KRL-Taiwan Power Company showdown remained tough as both sides, particularly the visitors, played in mature manner.
KRL’s finishing once again turned out to be unproductive as their strikers, including internationals Kaleemullah, Mohammad Qasim and Saddam Hussain, squandered a few easy chances that came their way.
Keeper Saqib Hanif, who only recently signed up for KRL, once again showed his class by saving two sure goals in an acrobatic fashion, one in each half.
KRL coach Tariq Lutfi looked a relieved man after the game. “Thanks God, we finally qualified for the finals,” Tariq told ‘The News’. “Had we not played a poor first game against Mongolia’s Erchim FC we could have finished more strongly,” added Tariq, also a former Pakistan coach.
He admitted that the opposition was more mature. “Yes, our rivals played a mature game but I would say that the match was evenly poised as we also got several chances but failed to convert them,” the coach conceded. “We were very cautious about the result. And had our rivals scored a goal against us, it could have been very dangerous for us,” he said.
He said that he was satisfied with his team’s overall performance. “Although we had problems in finishing, overall the result was satisfactory as we played well against a side which has to its credit 14 national titles. The output against them has instilled confidence in the players and now we are confident that we could go ahead in the finals as well,” Tariq remarked.
But Tariq wants his team to be better prepared for the final round. “I now feel that we need tough training ahead of the finals along with international exposure to the team. Although I cannot say that our management will be in a position to give us a foreign tour ahead of our next round’s matches, I will definitely suggest to them that the players need international grooming,” said Tariq, who joined KRL last year after retiring from PIA. “Our players are weak in fighting zone and we will have to work on finishing so that the delivery could be improved. The players need extensive counseling,” he said.
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