A first-half strike from Ntim Twum Frank gave holders Abahani their first win in the Bangladesh League when they handed a lone-goal defeat to their Chittagong namesakes in their second match at Birshreshtha Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.
The Ghanaian midfielder struck the decider in the 45th minute in a dull, one-sided affair in front of a few hundred spectators under floodlights.
Hattrick titleholders Abahani were not as impressive as they were against newcomers Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club last week where they played a goalless draw, and Abahani coach Ali Akbar blamed the opponents for their defensive mood throughout the game.
“The opponents played with a compact defense with 10 players on the backline and it is always tough to find space in such situations. But our side created more opportunites and we should have won the game with at least a five to six margin,” said Abahani’s Iranian coach Ali Akbar, who however admitted that his side did not play good and the finishing was poor.
Chittagong Abahani, who gave their earlier opponents Mohammedan Sporting Club a run for their money before suffering a lone-goal defeat Tuesday last, never looked they had any thrust to snatch points from their mighty opponents as they could not even muster a shot on target through the game.
The Dhanmondi-based outfit, Abahani, also looked to have a toothless attack until veteran Alfaz Ahmed replaced Abadullah Parvez on the half-hour mark and the game sped up with Awudu Ibrahim releasing a well-judged cross from the right for Frank, who headed the cross home just before the lemon break.
Ibrahim, who struck a hattrick in the Federation Cup final, also hit the
woodwork six minutes from time.
