Habib-ur-Rahman\u2019s first half strike put Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) in the semi-finals when they recorded 1-0 win over Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) in the second quarter-final of the National Football Challenge Cup 2019 at the Tehmas Khan Stadium, Peshawar on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Habib slotted home in the 34th minute.<\/p>\n
In front of a huge crowd at the historic venue, both sides showed enormous resolve on Pakistan\u2019s finest football pitch in hot conditions. A handful of chances were also created in the gruelling fight in which steady SSGC made a fine effort to have good control on the ball right from the start.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo doubt it was a close game,\u201d SSGC coach Tariq Lutfi told \u2018The News\u2019. However, he was not happy with a couple of squandered chances which he said should have been converted by his frontline.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough Habib scored a goal but we missed two easy chances when Saadullah and Zain could not capitalise on opportunities which came their way. We would have been in great position had we converted those solid chances,\u201d said Tariq, also Pakistan\u2019s former coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cPCAA are a good team. They have two fine strikers in Waheed and Naeem and when we dropped chances the pressure came on us because having one goal in your pocket is always risky to defend. But thanks God we kept it till the end,\u201d Tariq said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no regular striker in the team. Our key striker Lal Mohammad is out of touch and we give minor chance to him. Saadullah is missing goals. We left out Jamali because of illness and in 4-4-2 formation we are playing Saddam Hussain and Habib-ur-Rahman upfront,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tariq said they played very close games. \u201cNo doubt we played very close game and we have a solid chance in the semi-finals against WAPDA,\u201d he said. Tariq was confident of his team\u2019s chances against WAPDA in the semi-finals. \u201cI am sure we will live up to the expectations in the pre-final against WAPDA,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Source: The News<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"