Dhaka Mohammedan SC overcame a 10-man Chittagong Abahani by a single goal margin in their first match of the Grameenphone Bangladesh League 2010 at the Kamalapur Stadium on Tuesday.
The black-and-white’s Rwandan forward Habumugisha Ismail scored the all-important goal in their 1–0 triumph to earn full three points for his side.
It was supposed to be a one-sided match as Mohammedan finished as the runner-ups of the professional league in the past season with 62 points while their day’s challengers only just avoided the relegation with 21 points.
But both the teams played almost similar on the pitch until Chittagong Abahani’s Liberian recruit Othello Banei had been dismissed for his second bookable offence in the 79th minute.
A youthful Mohammedan had a better possession as their youngsters ran more on the field but failed two create any remarkable attack. On the other hand, their experienced opponents were defending calmly and the ball remained in the midfield most of the time.
Mohammedan’s under-17 national team striker Yeasin Khan, however, tried his luck with an aerial long-ranger from outside the penalty zone in the 51st minute but the port city side’s goalkeeper Jahangir Alam fisted it off.
When it was looking like the result is going to be a goalless draw, the tragedy befell the visiting side. Banei who conceded a caution in the first half was again shown the yellow card 11 minutes before the final whistle for opposing a referee decision.
The winning goal came from Ismail’s boot but the credit also goes to Akbar Hossain Ridon who penetrated the adversary danger zone through right and cut back to his Rwandan collogue. Ismail finished it on the back of the Chittagong Abahani net with an angular shot.
Both of the team’s coaches said the elimination of Banei was the turning point of the match. ‘I had maintained the 4-4-2 formation from the beginning but I changed it to 3-4-3 when they [Chittaogng Abahani] lost one defender which made the difference at the end,’ said Mohammedan coach Shafiqul Islam Manik.
The away side coach Hasanujjaman Babu almost echoed him. ‘We were in the match before losing Banei. We fall behind after his departure.’ The coach agreed that it was the player’s fault.
