Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited set up a final date with Feni Soccer Club on Saturday after beating archrivals Abahani Limited 1-0 in a high-octane semi-final of the Independence Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday. A deflection off Mohammedan skipper Zahid Hasan Ameli in the 32nd minute strike decided the fate of the match, which saw end-to-end football with a number of opportunities created at both ends.
This victory was Mohammedan’s first against their eternal foes in almost two years as they had last beaten the Sky Blues on May 22, 2012 in the fifth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Since then the two sides have met on six occasions, with Abahani winning three times and the other three matches ending in draws.
In Wednesday’s match, the Black and Whites enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and dominated the game right from the beginning.
The Abahani attackers, on the other hand, destroyed a series of opportunities as their attacking trio – Portuguese Leonildo Suares, Ghanaians Osei Morrison and Awudu Ibrahim missed some gilt-edged opportunities.
Abahani missed their first scoring chance in the 21st minute when an unmarked Pranotosh Kumar headed inches over the bar from close range following an Atiqur Rahman Meshu cross from the right flank.
Ousseni Zongo played a big hand in the winning goal for Mohammedan in the 32nd minute when he stroked the ball home via a deflection off Ameli from inside the box after Abahani captain Mohammed Sujan failed to clear a regulation cross. The ball fell kindly to Hemonto Vincent Biswas who subsequently set the ball up for the Burkina Faso midfielder’s shot which went home courtesy Ameli’s deflection.
In first-half stoppage time, Abahani’s Ghanaian forward Osei Morrison ran into the box on a through pass from Meshu but instead of giving the ball to his compatriot Awudu Ibrahim, who was unmarked in front of goal, Morrison shot straight to Mohammedan goalkeeper Mamun Khan’s body.
Abahani got a few chances to equalise the margin in the second half as Awudu Ibrahim floated the ball inside the box in the 51st minute which Leonildo Suares headed powerfully but the ball went over the crossbar.
Awudu Ibrahim missed another opportunity in the 77th minute when Osei Morrison slided the ball from the left flank onto the path of Awudu but the Ghanaian was too slow to meet the cross and Mohammedan defender Nahid was quick to clear the ball.
Courtesy of the victory, Mohammedan now have a golden chance to win another silverware after last season’s Super Cup.
-With New Age input
