South Asians in Football Weekly: Mariam Mahmood’s FA Cup magic | Harun Hamid joins St Albans after Pakistan adventure

The latest edition of South Asians in Football Weekly is out after another eventful week for the community in the Beautiful Game…

Mariam Mahmood produced some more Cup magic by coming off the bench to score twice, before setting up another to send West Bromwich Albion into the third round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

Mahmood, who scored in the previous round against Lye Town, showed every facet to her game after coming on for Steph Weston at half time with West Brom’s second-round tie with Needham Town goalless.

She went close to scoring twice either side of receiving treatment after getting clattered by goalkeeper Evie McKane. It was one of a few skirmishes with McKane, with Mahmood eventually reacting to a swipe by pushing the Needham ‘keeper away, resulting in a caution for the West Brom forward.

The game finished 0-0, but 10 minutes into the first period of extra time, Mahmood produced a sublime finish for the Baggies after rolling her marker in the area and curling a beautiful effort into the right corner of the goal.

Four minutes later, Mahmood broke down the right and beat the full-back before squaring for Simran Jhamat, who steadied herself before popping the ball into the top right corner.

But Mahmood wasn’t finished there as she broke clear a minute after the restart and rounded the goalkeeper, before being taken out by the defender to earn West Brom a penalty. The 19-year-old stepped up to take the spot-kick herself, slotting home to the right of the ‘keeper to net her third goal in three matches.

Mahmood and Jhamat face one of the toughest examinations of the season this weekend, with West Brom away to Newcastle in the FA Women’s Northern Premier Division.

Danny Batth retained his place in Norwich’s side and repaid manager David Wagner’s faith by helping the Canaries keep a clean sheet in Saturday’s 1-0 win against QPR.

Norwich had lost their three previous matches at Carrow Road to heap the pressure on head coach Wagner, but secured the three points thanks to a well-taken 21st-minute goal from on-loan striker Hwang Ui-jo.

It was a lacklustre showing from the hosts but it was all about the result, which followed a 3-2 win in their previous game at Cardiff where Batth played his full 90 minutes since joining Norwich from Sunderland on the last day of the summer transfer window.

British-Pakistani trailblazer Harun Hamid has joined St Albans City as a free agent following his departure from QPR.

The attacking midfielder made history last month when he scored Pakistan’s winner against Cambodia to secure the country’s first ever World Cup qualifying victory after 33 failed attempts previously.

Hamid was on the bench for the Saints’ 3-2 win against Maidstone at the weekend, having travelled back from Asia where he had played in Pakistan’s World Cup qualifying games against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan.

Grimsby Town midfielder Otis Khan captained Pakistan for the first time in the 4-0 loss to Saudi Arabia, who are coached by former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini, with Yaya Toure also part of the coaching team.

After the game, Khan said: “It was a huge honour to captain Pakistan.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game against Saudi Arabia, but there are plenty of positives to take for the upcoming games.

“It was one of the best moments of my career. A proud moment for me and my family. Thank you [coach] Stephen Constantine.”

Saudi Arabia coach Mancini said after the game: “In the world of football, there is no easy match, and the Pakistani national team performed well.”

The Saudi Arabia match also saw former England schoolboys’ international Imran Kayani make his international debut.

Kayani opened up exclusively to Sky Sports News earlier this year about his dream to play for Pakistan.

‘What a goal! What an incredible feeling!’

Former West Brom youngster Rahis Nabi scored a screamer in Pakistan’s clash with Tajikistan on home soil, four days later. The midfielder pulled a goal back to make it 2-1, before Tajikistan eventually scored four more to cap an emphatic win in Islamabad.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News about his performance Rahis’ elder brother Adil Nabi, who also plays professionally in Cyprus, said Rahis has a bright future ahead of him.

“My word, what a goal and what an incredible feeling for Rahis and all of us,” Adil told Sky Sports News. “To score a goal of that quality for any country would make any world-class or elite footballer of any nationality proud.

“It was on his weaker side, with his left foot and he put it in the top bin. For me, for the family, for Rahis, it was an incredible feeling and one that you can’t really beat to be honest.

“He also had a fantastic game against Saudi Arabia and was one of the best players on the pitch. Yaya and Roberto spoke to him after the game and applauded him for his performance, and coming from people of that ilk and that level is absolutely huge for him.

“It just shows the level of Rahis. The sky is the limit for him and we’re all really looking forward now to seeing how far he can go.”

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