Abahani Limited got the better of archrivals Mohammedan Sporting Club in the first meeting between the two sides in the 7th Bangladesh Premier Football League as the Sky Blues registered a 1-0 victory on Sunday. Ghanaian marksman Osei Morrison bagged the all-important goal in the 17th minute at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. The Black and Whites grafted hard to equalise in the dying stages of the game but their attackers failed to create enough scoring opportunities as they fell to their first defeat in four matches.
The Sky Blues on the other hand recorded their third victory from the same number of matches and moved to second position in the standings with 10 points while Mohammedan remained in fifth with five points.
Abahani wasted a glorious chance to go ahead in the 7th minute when Mohammedan’s Cameroonian defender Baybeck felled Morrison just outside the box but Awudu Ibrahim’s free-kick hit the wall.
Morrison though soon put his side ahead after a blunder from Mohammedan defender Mintu Sheikh. Abahani defender Atiqur Rahman Meshu provided a lobbed pass inside the penalty area which Mintu failed to clear. Morrison took the chance and swept the ball past Mohammedan goalkeeper Mamun Khan with his left foot.
Abahani came close to doubling their lead in the 36th minute but winger Towhidul Alam’s header from a Morrison cross was saved by Mamun.
After the interval, Mohammedan increased the tempo but they were struggling to find the target on a consistent basis.
Bangladesh Under-19 captain Hemanta Biswas received the ball from a melee in the penalty area in the 65th minute but his powerful strike flew inches over the crossbar.
Abahani’s Cameroonian midfielder Yoko Samnick failed to increase the margin a minute from the final whistle as Mohammedan custodian Mamun again produced a brilliant save, this time to deny a penalty. Nahidul Islam had fouled Morrison but Samnick’s weak spotkick was parried away.
Mohammedan’s Portuguese coach Jose Rui Capela Batista expressed his disappointment after accumulating only five points from a possible 12.
‘It’s very disappointing for us because we [have] already lost seven points from four matches. It will be tough to bring back the team in the [title] race,’ said the Portuguese tactician adding that, ‘We played very well in the last half but lost the game due to silly mistakes. Actually, the team is struggling because they did not take proper preparation in pre-season.’
Abahani’s Iranian coach Ali Akbar was satisfied with the result but felt that his side could have won by a bigger margin.
‘Margin of 1-0 was not safe at any time. We destroyed a couple of golden opportunities so the lead remained 1-0,’ said Akbar.
-With New Age input
