An 88th minute strike from substitute striker Sohel Rana salvaged one point for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club as they held Brothers Union to a 1-1 draw in their Grameenphone Bangladesh Premier League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Sheikh Jamal, the early pace-setters, looked heading for their first defeat of the league, but a sudden attack two minutes before time, initiated at midfield by Nigerian Sunday Chizoba who took the ball towards the goalie before releasing it for Sohel Rana, who needed a nod to put it in the net. The goal restored parity 73 minutes after Brothers Union had taken the lead through a deflected free-kick from Brazilian striker Anderson Garcia.
The third draw in eight matches lifted Sheikh Jamal to 18 points as they ended the first-leg one point behind leaders Sheikh Russel. Defending champions Abahani however can join Sheikh Russel at the top with a win at Muktijoddha Sangsad today in the last match of the first-leg.
Sheikh Jamal coach Joseph Afusi was nonetheless satisfied with the effort, as he felt the opponents were a competitive one. “Brothers Union are a big club, no matter what their position is in the league. And we had our own problems in the midfield. We are missing a number of key players including striker Mike Otojareri,” said Afusi with a wry smile.
Afusi’s opposite number and compatriot Ladi Babalola was absent at the press conference which was attended by his deputy Arifur Rahman Pannu instead. Pannu felt the team was starting to grasp with coach’s strategies and were playing much better than before. However, four points from eight matches leave Brothers just a single point above the bottom two and still in grave danger of relegation.
This match was at the centre of attention from different corners, as the same fixture last season produced a controversial 3-1 win for Brothers Union, giving rise to a lot of questions and initiated an investigation, which is yet to see the light.
But yesterday’s match was seemingly a much different affair, as both teams played in earnest for a win — one in search of lead while the other playing for survival. The intensity was there, and it only increased as the game wore on. The first goal took 15 minutes to come as Garcia’s free-kick from 25 yards out deflected off the wall and wrong-footed the Sheikh Jamal goalkeeper Maksudur Rahman to nestle at the back of the corner of the net.
The Sheikh Jamal coach Afusi brought on Rana in the 79th minute and that proved to be the vital move as the former Farashganj star turned in the Sunday’s through-ball in the 88th minute for the equaliser. There was time for more action in the stoppage time and Sheikh Jamal might have left the field with all three points had Mohammad Conte’s fierce shot gone in after hitting the bar.
-With The Daily Star input
