LUMS edge out Bahria in football in a gripping encounter

LUMS edge out Bahria in football in a gripping encounter

Bahria University’s football team returned to the ground where they have had so much joy in previous years to take on a LUMS side that had more to prove than their guests.

Having beaten the hosts on penalties the last time the two sides met, Bahria knew what they were capable of, yet with so many changes to the side, with only three players remaining from the last squad, it was going to be a challenge for the guests.

Played under floodlights at the LUMS football ground, the match kicked off at 8:30pm with the freezing temperature forcing both teams to warm up more than they would on any other occasion.

LUMS had decided that packing the midfield was their best bet against the physically dominant Bahrian side and the hosts just left the one striker up front to, hopefully, deal the damage.

Bahria on the other hand went for a more aggressive 4-4-2 formation, with veteran, Sakib Fazil retaining his place in the squad after impressing in the practice matches.

The first half was a case of possession football from LUMS and resilient defending from Bahria as neither side was able to impose their dominance on the match. The half-time whistle was a welcome sound for both sides as they continued cancelling each other
out.

A match such as this one is usually settled by a piece of individual brilliance or by a fair slice of luck and it was the latter that gave LUMS the lead after the restart.

A free kick from just outside the box skimmed the goal keeper’s glove before the ball collided off a LUMS player and took one agonising bounce before crossing the goal line to send the hosts in delirium.

Not to be too disheartened by going a goal down, the Bahrians pressed on and nearly scored from a free kick of their own not long after.

However, home advantage seemed to count as LUMS held on for a narrow 1-0 win, which they will feel was vengeance for losing to Bahria two years ago.

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Posted by Musa Afridi on Dec 12 2011. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry