KARACHI: Hazara United overpowered 16-Star Football Club after a thrilling final, which finished in sudden deaths, in Leisure Leagues Karachi Intra-City Championship here at Ansar Union Football Ground.
The regulation time ended in a goalless draw, despite several attempts were made from both sides in the summit clash. The match then entered in the penalty shootouts, which also ended in a draw as both teams managed to score three goals out of the stipulated five attempts. Finally in sudden deaths, Hazara United came out victorious.
The victory in 11-team Karachi Intra-City event has helped Hazara United earn their berth for the forthcoming eight-team Leisure Leagues National Football Championship. The national finals are scheduled to be held in the first week of May in Karachi.
Apart from Hazara United, ICWA Football Club (FC) has qualified for the national finals from Lahore; Red Devils from Islamabad; Sherof FC from Quetta; FC Thunderbolts from Hyderabad; Shiekh 7 FC from Mardan; Akram Shaheed FC from Qila Saifullah; Shinwari FC from Peshawar.
Meanwhile, each of the 11 teams that qualified for the Karachi Intra-City tournament were champions of different leagues, earlier organized by Leisure Leagues on different occasions.
Out of the 11 teams, five lucky teams got the chance to directly qualify for the quarterfinals. The remaining six teams had to play pre-quarterfinals. All of the 11 teams were present when the draws were opened.
In quarterfinals, Hazara United trounced KDA Football Club 3-0. Irfan, Hashim and Taqi scored one goal each. Meanwhile, 16-Star also thrashed Targaryens United by identical 3-0 score-line. Abdul Rehman braced for the winners while Hamza scored the third goal for the side.
Dare Devils cruise into the semifinals after beating Joga Bonito 2-0. Raees and Aqeel scored one goal each for the winners in the quarterfinal.
In semifinals, 16-Star overcame IU by a narrow margin of 1-0 score. Abdul Rahman scored the lone goal of the match to take his team in the final. Coincidently, Hazara United also managed a 1-0 victory in semifinals beating Dare Devils by 1-0 score. Mohammad Irfan scored the decisive goal of the second semifinal encounter.
