Pakistan Army trounces Karachi United 7-1 to lift NWFC trophy

KARACHI: A star-studded side of the Pakistan Army team outclassed a young Karachi United side 7-1 to win the 12th edition of the National Women Football Championship on Sunday.

The final at the Karachi United Football ground was a one-sided encounter as the inexperienced home team looked powerless against the Malika-led Army team.

Pakistan Army got an early lead through a beautiful goal by the national team's star Hajra Khan in the third minute of the match. Eshal doubled the lead with another impressive goal in the 25th minute.

Alina in the 37th minute and Malika in the 40th minute made it 4-0 in favour of the Pakistan Army before the referee blew the whistle for half-time.

Karachi United WFC tried to bounce back in the second half and made a few attempts to score. Their efforts yielded fruit in the 49th minute when Suha Herani scored the first, and the only, goal for Karachi United.

However, Pakistan Army did not allow KU to flex their muscles any further in the match and scored three more goals (by Aliza, Eshal and Alina, respectively in 80th, 81st and 90th minute) before the final whistle was blown to complete a 7-1 win.

"It was a great team effort, we got the edge because of our experience. But I am happy to see young girls showing potential in the sport," said Pakistan Army's captain Malika Noor who has also represented Pakistan in 20 international games.

"We were an inexperienced side, Army had international players while our players were in their early teens. We lost, but it was a good learning experience for the young players," said Shumaila Zehri, the captain of Karachi United.

Earlier, WAPDA defeated Punjab 10-0 to claim the third position. WAPDA's captain Syeda Mahpara was also declared the Best Goalkeeper of the Championship.

Sahar Zaman of WAPDA was given golden boot award for scoring 27 goals in the championship while KU's Suha Herani was given the award of most valuable player of the tournament.