A double strike by Mithun Chowdhury helped Muktijoddha Sangsad crush Feni Soccer Club by 5-0 in the Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday.
Apart from Mithun’s double, Nigerian Sunday Chizoba, defender Nasir Chowdhury and winger Shihab netted one goal apiece for the Muktis.
After being stunned by Farashganj Sporting Club in the previous match, Muktijoddha were more cautious against Feni as they fielded five defenders allowing only Sunday upfront, but they did not have to wait long to take the lead.
Nasir gave Muktis the lead in just the seventh minute after placing the ball home from close range receiving the pass from Sunday.
The lead was doubled in the 21st minute by Sunday who curved the ball nicely from the left-flank to find the far post despite facing challenges from the defenders.
Atangana Paulin got Feni’s first shot on target five minutes from the break, but it was well-gripped by Muktis goalkeeper Maksudur Rahman Mustaq.
Despite starting the season in good form scoring three goals in four Federation Cup matches, National striker Mithun had been going through a bad-patch since the start of the league and even lost his place in the starting eleven as he failed to score any goal.
With Muktijoddha leading the game 2-0, Mithun came as a substitute in place of defender Rezaul Karim in the second half and struck twice to ensure a bigger margin for his side.
Mithun scored his first in the 64th minute with a header to make it 3-0 while Shihab extended the lead in the 77th minute as the winger side-volleyed from a Ariful Islam back-header off a Maruf corner.
Mithun made it five with an easy near post finish in the stoppage time.
Mithun later said that his bad patch was over with the two goals he scored in the match and also thaked his teammates who supported him.
‘Every player goes through a bad patch and I went too, but now it’s over with today’s double strike. I want to greet my fellow teammates who had supported me and wanted me to score in this match,’ said Mithun.
The win though kept Muktijoddha at the same second place with 24 points from 12 matches, three less than leaders Abahani.
Feni Soccer also remained in their previous ninth position with 10 points from the same number of matches.
-With New Age input
