Final Charity Encounter Today

Warm-up over, Abahani and Mohammedan gear up for the third and final match of the Teletalk Series hoping that the decider will put an end to the scarcity of crowd.

With the charity series - organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to raise fund for the victims of Cyclone Sidr that ripped through the southern part of the country last month - locked 1-1, today's match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium will separate the winners.

The match will kick off at 4.30pm.

The two perennial foes' failure to attract fans in the last two matches was not totally unexpected as people have already turned their faces from the game. Even during competitive matches between the city rivals, the stadium remained half-full.

A total of 14,000 tickets worth just over Tk four lakh have been sold so far but the organisers are still hoping for a boost by the holiday crowd.

Mohammedan won the first encounter 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw in regulation 90 minutes but Abahani bounced back with a 2-1 victory in the second match to level the scores.

Abahani captain Arif Khan Joy and Mohammedan's guest defender Hassan Al Mamun, who were sent off during the incident-packed first game, will return after serving one-match bans.

On the other hand, black and whites coach Shafiqul Islam Manik who inspired his boys to walk off the ground in protest of a disallowed goal also in the inaugural match, will also be available at the Mohammedan bench after serving a touchline ban.

It would be a challenge for Manik who looks forward to record a win in normal time after failing to beat B. League champions Abahani so far this season.

B. League runners-up Mohammedan had lost one and drew the other game in the professional league before managing to beat the sky-blues in the tiebreaker on last Monday.

Everyone, however, hopes that return of the key figures would be for the better and the most popular clubs of the country will show patience instead of repeating typical on and off the field antics and disappoint their devotees.