Congolese hitman Siyo Zunapio slammed a hattrick to guide Farashganj Sporting Club to an emphatic 4-0 win over Rahmatganj MFS in their Grameenphone Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Nigerian Akinyele Peter netted the other goal in Farashganj’s fourth victory in 15 matches which lifted the Old Dhaka outfit to seventh position with 17 points. Neighbours Rahmatganj remain at the bottom of the 11-team table with nine points from the same number of matches.
The match was equally important for both sides in their bid to avoid relegation and in the end Farashganj’s counter-attack based approach was rewarded game and all but ensured safety after putting four teams behind them, with five matches left.
For Rahmatganj, it was eighth defeat in a row that also seemingly steered them towards an inevitable relegation.
Farashganj, the Independence Cup champions, went ahead in the 13th minute with a delightful chip from Zunapio over the advancing goalkeeper Sujan Chowdhury but afterwards, Rahmatganj dominated and created a few chances but all of their efforts went in vain.
Rahmatganj kept their tempo after the restart with Moloy Barman trying from the distance but they conceded the second goal from a counter-attack six minutes into the second half. Akbar Ali Ridon put a through-pass for Peter, who raced past two defenders outside the box and beat onrushing goalkeeper Sujan before placing the ball home to double the margin.
Zunapio made it 3-0 from a spot-kick when Mushfiqur Ahmed Shimul brought down Ridon inside the box on 57 minutes while the Congolese striker completed his hattrick and league’s 10th treble in the 65th minute with a tap after Jewel Rana pushed the ball for him from the right-hand area of the danger zone.
-With The Daily Star input
