Abahani Limited secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Feni Soccer Club in their Bangladesh Premier League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday. In the other match of the day at the same venue, Sheikh Russell Krira Chakra thrashed Brothers Union 3-1 to stay alive in the title race Away in Chittagong, Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra were held to a 1-1 draw by hosts Chittagong Abahani at the MA Aziz Stadium.
Abahani’s Nigerian recruit Sunday Chizoba continued his fine form by scoring a brace while Shahedul Alam Junior made first start in the league count with a goal.
Abahani, who started their second phase with a scrappy 2-1 win over Rahmatganj MFS, scored all three goals in the second half.
They, however, dominated the first half completely and came close to scoring on several occasions, most notably in the 37th minute when Ghanaian Osei Morrison shot straight to goalkeeper from six-yard box following a neat through pass from Sunday.
Sunday saw his 25-yard out free-kick was brilliantly blocked by soccer keeper in the 44th minute.
Abahani keeper Ziaur Rahman made two consecutive saves in the injury time to deny Soccer from scoring.
Abahani finally broke the stalemate in the 58th minute when Sunday’s left-footed curling effort from top of the box following a cutback of Abdul Komol went into the net.
Sunday scored his second of the day and fourth in the league in the 67th minute when his powerful strike took a deflection at the sidebar and crossed the goal-line past.
Midfielder Shahedul Junior sealed the victory with a neat finishing two minutes later tapping the ball home having fed by Morrison from the left side.
With the win, Abahani moved to third place with 23 points from 12 matches, four points adrift of leaders Sheikh Jamal while Feni Soccer remained ninth with nine points from the same number of outings.
In Chittagong, after a barren first half Muktijoddha midfielder Faisal Mahmud broke the deadlock in the 69th minute but the home side denied them full three points when their newly recruited striker Chowmrin Rakhain scored the equaliser in the 80th minute.
Muktijoddha, who were by Feni Soccer for a goalless draw in the previous match, have earned 21 points from 12 matches while the draw Chittagong outfit their sixth point that kept them at 10th place.
Hemanta Vincent put Russell ahead in 27th minute and then set up the second goal for Cameroonian Jean Jules Ikanga who headed the ball in from a corner in the 55th minute.
Nigerian Kester Akon scored with a volley eight minutes later but Ikanga sealed the contest with his second goal two minutes from the time.
With the win Russell stayed in the fourth position with 23 from 11 matches while Brothers, who played one game more, slipped to fifth place being unable to add any points to their previously collected 21.
RESULTs
Abahani Limited 3 (Sunday 58, 67, Shahed Jr 69) v Feni Soccer Club 0; Sheikh Russell KC 3 (Hemanta 27, Ikanga 55, 88) v Brothers Union 1 (Kester 63); Muktijoddha Sangsad 1 (Faisal Mahmud 69) v Chittagong Abahani 1 (Chowmrin Rakhain 80)
-With New Age input
