Karachi, Mar 10(ANI): Pakistan's hopes of qualifying for the second round of the Olympic football qualifiers have crashed as their second-leg against Malaysia ended in a goalless draw at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore.
Poor finishing was once again a big stumbling block for Pakistan, who needed a win with a three-goal margin, The News reports.
Had they availed the opportunities during the match, six of them being very good ones, they would have been in the second round of the qualifiers.
"You cannot produce a good result with a 50-day preparation camp," Pakistan head coach Tariq Lutfi lamented in the post-match briefing.
"We managed to get a few chances and I am happy with the way the boys played so open against a tough side," he added.
In front of a capacity crowd, Pakistan came out all guns blazing, inflicting plenty of forceful rallies that unsettled their opponents.
But in the 15th minute, striker Rizwan Asif's close-range drive went off the target.
In the 21st, defender Mohammad Adil missed the target and five minutes later, captain Jadeed Khan Pathan failed to beat the goalkeeper after beating a row of defenders.
In the 39th, Mohammad Adil once again failed to capitalise on an easy chance.
In the second-half, Pakistan inflicted a forceful rally but Jadeed Khan's mistimed shot went over the cross bar, and the next five minutes saw Rizwan Asif and Kaleemullah missing sureshot goals. (ANI)
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