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MALE: Pakistan team on Thursday completed a historic 3-0 victory over Maldives in the third match of the four-nation Diamond Jubilee Tournament at the National Football Stadium.
Pakistan ended a 962-day period without a football victory and achieved their first win against the Maldives since the 1991 South Asian Games.
The first half saw Pakistan gain territorial ascendancy, but the Shaheens were unable to break the deadlock. Things turned around in the second half, when Hayyan Khattak’s rasping drive saw the Maldives keeper spill the ball, and Umer Nawaz was there to poach the ball and bundle it home.
The first Pakistan goal saw Maldives going on the offence to equalise, which saw them create two clear cut chances that could not be converted.
However, Maldives were also leaving huge spaces in the field, and substitute Abdul Samad Arshad caressed the ball past the keeper in the 83rd minute.
The third goal came off a deflected shot when another substitute, Harun Hamid, saw his shot deflect off a defender in the 87th minute and go beyond a hapless Maldives keeper.
This completed Pakistan’s first win in well over two years. And gave Head Coach Nolberto Solano his first win as Pakistan head coach.
PFF President Syed Mohsen Gilani congratulated the Pakistan team for their victory and hoped they would carry on in the same vein against Afghanistan in their next match on Saturday
Pakistan squad:
Goalkeepers: Saqib Hanif, Yousuf Butt, and Hassan Ali.
Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal, Mohammad Fazal, Abdullah Shah, Easah Suliman, Mohib Afridi, Mamoon Moosa, Ali Niazi and Haris Zeb.
Midfielders: Adil Nabi, Rahis Nabi, Alamgir Ghazi, Hayyan Khattak, Ali Agha and Otis Khan.
Forwards: Shayak Dost, Umer Nawaz, Ali Shah, Ali Khan, Samad Arshad and Harun Hamid.
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