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Islamabad lift U14 football title Back To Main

KARACHI: Islamabad lifted the title after beating Sindh 3-1 on penalty shootout in the final of the National Under-14 Football Championship at the Jinnah Stadium in the federal capital on Tuesday.
At the end of the scheduled time, the match was evenly poised without any goal. However, Islamabad, under coach Sajjad Mehmood, kept their cool and converted three penalties in penalty shootout, while Sindh managed just one.

Luqman, Hassam and Roy Hammad converted their penalties for the winners Islamabad, while Saeed Babar scored for Sindh. “The whole credit goes to the boys who worked hard throughout the tournament,” Islamabad coach Sajjad Mehmood told ‘The News’ after wining the final. “We had a two-week camp and all the coaches worked hard to prepare a good team,” he said.
This was the sixth title from Sajjad as a coach as he has to his credit one Premier League and two National Challenge Cup titles while serving as KRL coach, Geo Super League title for Islamabad and the SAFF Under16 Championship title in Nepal last year while acting as Pakistan coach.
Sindh coach Akhlaq Ahmad was disappointed. “It was shocking as the team played tight field game, but failed to cope with the pressure in penalty shootout,” he said. Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) President Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat was the chief guest at the closing ceremony and gave away trophies, medals and cash prizes to the leading teams and players of the competitions.
The winners Islamabad were handed over a trophy and purse of Rs75,000, the runners-up Sindh went away with a trophy and a cheque of Rs50,000 while Punjab, who defeated Karachi Zone B in the third place play-off, got Rs50,000. The Fair-Play trophy and Rs15,000 went to Karachi Zone A, while Rs10,000 each were handed over to Muneer Munna (leading scorer, 7 goals, Sindh) and Shah Zeb (best player, Sindh).