Khulna Abahani Depart With Future Uncertain

Khulna Abahani finished ninth in the B. League when the visitors crushed Rahamatganj 3-0 on the penultimate day of the inaugural professional football league at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Needing a win to avoid a last-place finish, Rahamatganj showed signs of determination early in their league finale but failed to continue with the same spirit after captain Sony conceded an own goal five minutes from break.

Pikul and substitute Nazmul added the rest in the second half to ensure Khulna's third win in Dhaka after upsetting giants Brothers Union 4-2 and champions Abahani 2-1.

The home side, who had lost 2-0 to the Khulna sky-blues in their first leg match - the opening round of the competition back in March - ended bottom-of-the-table with 13 points while Khulna Abahani increased their collection to 16 points with their overall fourth victory.

The league ends today with runners-up Mohammedan facing neighbours and sixth-placed Arambagh and Sheikh Russel targeting a win against Chittagong Mohammedan in the port city in a bid to clinch third place.

Mamun fluffed a great chance after 12 minutes when the Rahamatganj forward took a headed pass from Rony on the edge of the six-yard box but screwed his shot wide.

Francis had only the last defender to beat from a melee on the half hour but the Nigerian striker failed to keep is chip under the bar as Rahamatganj's domination began to fizzle out.

A freekick by Abahani leftback Kabir broke the deadlock when his centre from the left side took a wicked deflection off Sony's chest, giving Anwarul no chance at the Rahamatganj goal.

Hemyaet Ullah's boys, the most impressive side on counter attacks, revealed their weapon properly in the second half to put the old-Dhaka outfit under constant threat with indefatigable runs by Pikul, Tajul and Prashanta, who had scored the very first goal of the competition.

The fact that Rahamatganj went more attacking in search of an equaliser, bringing Nigerian forward Ikogho in, helped the tourists to find more space but Tajul was denied by goalkeeper Anwarul on the hour before firing a shot over.

Substitute midfielder Hanif threw a lifeline to Rahamatganj in the 70th minute when he picked Adeyinka with a freekick but the Nigerian's header was cleanly collected by rival custodian Iran on the line.

Four minutes later, Pikul latched on a long ball from their own half to dribble past Rahamatganj centre-back Shipon and hammer a right-footer into the roof of the net for his fourth league goal.

Francis spilled another chance from close range before Nazmul made it 3-0 in the 84th minute. Tajul exchanged passes with Pikul before releasing a square-pass near the goalmouth where Nazmul dodged the keeper to place the ball into an empty net.

Despite an impressive performance, Khulna Abahani's future in the B. League, however, was uncertain. "We could hardly train in the second leg due to lack of fund. For many days we had to skip training. Not only us, the financial condition is very poor for all clubs in Khulna," told coach Hemayet Ullah.

"The regular source of income has been stopped for long and we could not even collect Tk 3,000 for our per day practice. Donors are also in trouble and we had to go door to door to our members and well wishers to raise fund. Our secretary Dr. Bahar has been really helpful.

"If this situation continues, we would not be able to participate in the professional league any further. Twenty players of our 23-member squad are local boys. That's why they gave everything behind the team. But we can't keep them next year because other teams will lure them with money," said the former Khulna Abahani player-turned-coach who has been with the club for 12 years.

"In the end, I am satisfied because the players gave more than they got from us. We should have treated them better.

About his success against the heavyweights of Dhaka - Khulna Abahani held Muktijoddha, Russel and lastly Mohammedan at home - he said, "We took the big matches seriously. We packed the defence and relied on quick counter attacks. But against other teams we played more attacking and paid the penalty."

Khulna Abahani Break Mohammedan Hearts

Khulna Abahani did a favour to their more illustrious Dhaka wing when the bottom-table side held visiting Mohammedan to a 1-1 draw in yesterday's crucial B. League match at the Khulna Stadium.

The result heavily dashed Mohammedan's title hopes in the inaugural professional football league, pushing top-of-the-table Abahani within a whisker of clinching the trophy.

Abahani's match against Sheikh Russel yesterday in the capital was postponed due to inclement weather and the sky blues will need just two points from their remaining two matches.

The Abahani vs Russel fixture has been revised for today and even if Amalesh Sen's league leaders miss out full points today, they will get another chance against Muktijoddha in their league finale on July 30.

Only if Abahani lose both their matches, Mohammedan can win the title on the final day of the competition provided they beat neighbouring Arambagh on August 1.

Mohammedan, who raised their tally to 39 points, are still two points adrift of their archrivals Abahani. The draw was their sixth in 19 outings but Shafiqul Islam Manik's side were unfortunate not to get full points as their Nigerian striker and captain Mwach Ukwu Paul wasted a first-half penalty.

Mohammedan got the golden chance in the 35th minute but the league's second highest scorer (14 goals) Paul's feeble shot from the spot gave local goalkeeper Iran Sheikh no trouble at all.

There was chaos when some spectators used abusing remarks against Paul but the incident did not hamper the proceedings.

The black and whites, who had thrashed Khulna Abahani 6-1 at home in the first leg, went into the break 0-0 after Paul's missed opportunity but conceded the lead two minutes after resumption.

It was striker GM Mamun, who got his maiden national call earlier this month, put the hosts ahead with a header past a bemused Himel at the Mohammedan goal after rival defender Arif and midfielder Zahid hesitated to clear a long ball inside their area.

Mohammedan dominated the rest of the show and created numerous chances but managed just the equaliser on the hour when veteran Ariful Kabir Farhad took a right-side pass to beat Iran, who was brilliant under pressure throughout the second half.

Mohammedan coach Manik told The Daily Star over phone that they should have won the match after opening up the rival defence now and again.

"We created around ten chances in the second half but unlike the earlier matches, when we used to score one or two from four-five chances, we failed. Iran played superb but Paul's penalty was like a backpass," rued Manik.

Khulna Abahani, who end their campaign in Dhaka against Rahamatganj, will be braced for a great battle as both the teams would be eager to avoid a bottom-table finish.

Both Khulna Abahani and Rahamatganj are on 13 points but the port city side have an edge by virtue of a better goal difference.

Meanwhile, the B. League authority has decided to kick off the remaining matches at 4.15 pm.

Chittagong Mohammedan 3-0 Khulna Abahani

Chittagong Mohammedan crushed visiting Khulna Abahani 3-0 in yesterday's B. League at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong.

The port city side, who registered their seventh win in 18 games, took absolute control after Asif Yusuf opened the scoring after four minutes with his fourth league goal while foreign recruit Anthony Doe doubled the lead ten minutes later.

Rashed Ahmed Dipu sealed the victory for the hosts in the 68th minute to maintain their hundred per cent record over Khulna Abahani, who had lost 1-0 at home in the first leg. It was the striker's fourth goal in the competition.

The Khulna outfit remained at the base of the table with 12 points after 18 rounds while Chittagong Mohammedan toppled Brothers, Arambagh and Farashganj to climb to fifth place with 25 points.

Abahani and Chittagong Mohammedan Avenge Defeats

It was a day of revenge for touring sides as the B. League completed its 18th week yesterday.

Title contenders Abahani crushed their Khulna namesakes 5-1 away at Khulna Stadium to wipe out memories of a stunning 2-1 loss in Dhaka in the first leg.

In Dhaka, visiting Chittagong Mohammedan upset struggling giants Brothers Union 2-1 to settle scores of a 1-0 home loss in late April.

Abahani consolidated their position atop the table after their 11th win in 17 matches, opening up a three-point lead over archrivals Mohammedan.

The day began for the Dhaka sky-blues brightly. Unlike their first-leg clash, when they had stormed the Khulna Abahani goal but wasted a series of chances in the first half hour before eventually losing, Amalesh Sen's league leaders went ahead after three minutes with Ghanaian forward Awudu Ibrahim scoring in the third minute.

After a rather quiet first half, the game came alive after the break with four goals inside 20 minutes. Ibrahim got his second of the match - his fifth in the league - ten minutes after resumption but Khulna Abahani reduced the arrears a minute later through midfielder Tajul Islam.

But the visiting side took absolute control with goals by winger Abdullah Parvez and forward Tipu, in the 61 and 75 minutes, putting the result beyond doubt.

Emily sealed the victory one minute from time with his eighth strike in four games, the inform Abahani No. 10 taking his tally to ten goals.

Khulna Abahani remained bottom of the table along with Rahmatganj and fellow Abahani from Chittagong, all three on 12 points.

Chittagong Mohammedan, meanwhile, brightened their chances of a top-half finish when they came from a goal down to beat Brothers at the Bangabandhu National Stadium with goals from substitutes Rashedul Alam Dipu and Kamrul Islam Pavel.

Brothers dominated the first period but Mamun's shot midway through the first half was saved by goalkeeper Raju, who was substituted due to injury. Jalaluddin fluffed an easy chance on the stroke of halftime when he sideheaded a Masud Rana cross over the bar.

The visitors threatened with Yusuf's darting run on the half hour but when his effort was partially cleared by rival shotstopper Mohammed Ali, Zahid failed to properly shoot the rebound.

It took the Oranges two minutes after the break to go ahead with Jalaluddin setting a cross from the left. Nigerian striker Junior controlled the ball well before skirting opposition defender Sohel to slot a neat left footer past substitute goalie Titu to reestablish his position as top scorer with 15 goals.

A couple of defensive errors, however, cost Brothers their sixth defeat.

Dipu, who came in on for Towhid, equalised in the 69th minute when he collected the ball and went past Ali to push the ball into an open goal after Jewel Rana and the Brothers keeper hesitated on a long ball.

Asif Yusuf then sliced the rival defence with a through for Pavel, who replaced Shah Alam, to race past Jewel and slam the match winner with an angled drive three minutes before the final whistle.

Junior came close to level scores in time added on but his powerful freekick from 30 yards was kept out by Titu for a corner.

Chittagong Mohammedan increased their collection to 22 points, just one behind Brothers after both have played 17 games.

Reds Stay Alive

Muktijoddha overcame the challenge of ten-man Khulna Abahani yesterday to take temporary lead in the B. League with a 4-2 win at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The home side, who drew 1-1 in their Khulna trip in the first leg, were held by an identical margin at the break with Tajul cancelling Muktijoddha's early lead given by Moni.

The Reds, however, killed the game midway through the second half with Moroccan midfielder Brahim scoring with a sublime skill just after setting up one for Maruf.

Mamun inspired Khulna's fightback with another superb strike but Brahim also had a hand in Alfaz's goal that sealed the victory one minute from time to secure Muktijoddha's ninth victory.

Abu Yusuf's boys topped the table with 33 points after 17 games but Abahani and Mohammedan, on 32 and 29 points respectively, both have a couple of matches in hand.

In a bid to brighten their slim title hopes, Muktijoddha mounted early pressure and went ahead in the fifth minute after Alfaz and Brahim blew close chances.

Arman Aziz picked up Moni with a through from the middle and the captain, despite tight marking on the edge of the area, chipped a left footer past an onrushing Abahani goalie Iran.

The sky-blues from the southern port-city, who had upset local giants like Brothers and Abahani in the first leg, regrouped with neat passes in the middle and pushed their mighty opposition on the defensive.

A freekick just outside the Muktijoddha box in the 25th minute brought the visitors back when midfielder Tajul hammered the ball into goalkeeper Titumir's top left corner after Prashanta had pushed the dead ball low past the wall.

Mamun looked dangerous but Titumir's fine save and Ghanaian centre-back Ghansah's timely interception kept the Khulna forward at bay before halftime.

The Reds came out after the break with a purpose and following blank fires by Alfaz, Munna and Maruf, the pressure told in the 62nd minute.

After hard work at the right, Brahim released a teasing through that missed a sliding Alfaz in front of the goal but Maruf, rearing at the far post, slammed a left-footer into the back of the net for his maiden league goal.

A minute later, the holding midfielder was thoughtlessly fouled by Khulna's Khalid Saifullah, who was immediately sent off for his second bookable offence.

Each side missed a good chance before Brahim raced past half of the rival players including goalkeeper Iran to complete a 50-yard run and place the ball into an open goal to make it 3-1 in the 70th minute.

Mamun was equally brilliant to reduce the arrears seven minutes from time when the Abahani striker, who also scored against Muktijoddha back home, weaved through the whole opposition backline - Saiful, Deen Mohammed, Ghansah and Hassan Al Mamun - from the left flank before drilling a low drive into the far corner.

Muktijoddha held their nerves in the dying minutes and Afaz, seconds before being substituted, shrugged off Abahani captain Ashraf's challenge near the seven-yard box to control a square pass by Brahim and shoot home for his seventh league goal.

The defeat, Khulna Abahani's 10th in outings, saw them climb down to second-from bottom with 12 points.

Brothers' Comeback Hopes Dashed

Four bottom-half teams in the B. League shared points on the second day of the second leg as both matches in Dhaka and Khulna ended in identical 1-1 draws yesterday.

Brothers Union's bid to return to the title race suffered another blow when they failed to beat Farashganj for the second time in the competition after a goalless draw in the first leg.

Nigerian striker Elijah Junior converted a 13-minute penalty after to give the Oranges lead after Farashganj centre-back and captain Faisal tripped Shakil inside the area.

Syed Nayeemuddin's side, however, failed to hold on to the early advantage as the riversiders levelled on the stroke of the half hour with debutant African striker Opara Luxson Puma scoring with a placing shot after a combined attack. Puma came close to score against seconds before half time but Nizam made a fine save at the Brothers goal.

Brothers had to remain satisfied with 16 points from 11 outings as a spectacular header by Junior, the second highest scorer with eight goals, was denied by substitute goalie Azam in the last minute.

Farashganj, third from bottom, now have 11 points after as many rounds.

In a battle of Abahanis at the Khulna Stadium, the home side failed to take revenge of their first-leg loss in the Chittagong trip.

Tajul put Khulna Abahani ahead after 33 minutes but Liberian forward Dolly Abraham's 41-minute strike secured Chittagong Abahani's only draw in the league so far. The visitors had won 2-0 when they clashed in the port city.

On 11 points, Khulna Abahani edged Farashganj by virtue of a better goal difference while Chittagong Abahani remained just above the base of the table with ten points.

Mohammedan SC Dhaka Thrash Khulna 6-1

Mohammedan Sporting club finished their first leg campaign of the B. League with a flurry of goals when the Dhaka heavyweights brushed aside giant killers Khulna Abahani 6-1 yesterday.

Nigerian duo Mwach Ukwu Paul and Emeka Christina each scored a brace while Mohammed Rony celebrated his first team selection also with a two-goal effort at the Bangabandhu National Stadium as the black and whites took pole position for the first time in the competition.

Prashanta Dey reduced the arrears from a penalty in the embarrassingly one-sided affair as Khulna Abahani's trip to the capital turned sour after memorable wins against local giants Brothers Union and Abahani. The tourists stuck to nine points at eighth place.

It was the sixth win for Shafiqul Islam Manik's side rapidly improving side, who had won just one match in their first five attempts and slumped to second from bottom before having a welcome break from the fixture.

Since captain Paul's six-goal heroics in the 7-1 mauling of Rahmatganj in the sixth match, Mohammedan have not lost a single point to reach 20 points after ten games.

Almost written off from the title race, the black and whites will remain on top if top-of-the-table contenders Sheikh Russel and Abahani, level on 18 points, draw the first-leg finale on Wednesday.

Mohammedan, who put on an excellent display of attacking football in last week's 2-1 victory against visiting English club Oldham Athletic youth side, began where they had left off and Emeka fired the hosts ahead after eight minutes.

It was Paul who dashed down the left, dodging past three defenders on way to the six-yard box before releasing a square pass that left Emeka with a simple task of placing home.

Paul was on target two minutes later when the robust Nigerian, apparently offside, put down a left-flank centre by Kamal with his chest and hammered a volley into the top right corner from seven yards.Unsettled by two early goals, the Khulna outfit found it hard to regroup but managed to hold the scoreline 2-0 till 36 minutes as Rony failed to convert from one-on-one and Emeka nodded the ball on to the crossbar.

Paul increased the margin nine minutes from the breather when he raced past rival centre-back Shahin with a through from leftback Kamal and finished the move after going round goalkeeper Foyaz.

Rony soon fluffed a chance from close range before the young winger won a penalty after being tripped by Hadiuzzaman two minutes from break. Paul, the top scorer of the league with 11 goals, however, failed to complete his second hattrick of the league as he fired wide from the spot despite sending Foyaz the wrong way.

Rony finally got a deserved goal in the 49th minute when he beat an onrushing Foyaz to a Kamal cross from the left to put the ball into the near post with a glancing header.

The visitors, famous for the counter attacks, pushed hard and after wasting two half chances, won a penalty when Arif brought Mamun down inside the box. Prashanta made no mistake to shoot home from 12 yards for his fourth goal.

Foyaz's legworks denied another point-blank range effort from Rony, who set up Emeka with a chip from the right to make it 5-1 in the 68th minute with a sliding finish.

Emeka complimented Rony with a square pass a couple of minutes later as the local boy tapped in to seal the victory with his second goal of the match.

Brothers Hold Abahani, Muktijoddha Draw at Khulna

Abahani and Brothers Union spent 90 scoreless minutes on the pitch to share points in yesterday's heavyweight B. League clash at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Abahani's third draw in seven games pushed Diego Cruciani's unbeaten side to 15 points, level with Sheikh Russel and Muktijoddha atop of the table with the latter playing one game more.

Muktijoddha failed to grab solo lead as they were held 1-1 at Khulna Abahani also yesterday.

Alfaz Ahmed's fourth league goal put thmuktijoddha, soccere visitors ahead on the half hour at the Khulna Stadium but the Red's lead was short lived as GM Mamun fired the equaliser ten minutes later for Khulna Abahani.

The hosts increased their collection to seven points after as many games as Muktijoddha remained winless outside Dhaka in the competition having earlier lost away at Chittagong Mohammedan.

In Dhaka, the two sides produced a dull first period before a poor crowd but the game came alive after the break with forays and counter forays.

After an equal exchange, the best chance fell to Syed Naymuddin's boys midway through the first half when Nigerian striker Junior's through helped Manju beat an offside trap but his low drive at the near post was saved one-handed by sky-blues keeper Biplab.

Biplab, who has conceded just one goal so far in the competition, denied Junior's effort on the half hour before Abahani threatened to score. However, Oranges centre-back Shuvra's timely interception kept Argentine forward Parodi at bay.

Nazrul came close in the first half injury time but the tall Abahani central defender saw his header on a corner hit the top of the crossbar before going out.

Abahani, who started with a 4-3-3 formation, switched to a four-man midfield after the break to get a stranglehold and Ibrahim forced a fine save by Nizam, playing first time at the Brothers goal this season, a minute after the resumption.

Abahani dominated the show till the hour but their striking force once again failed to put the ageing rival defenders under pressure.

In the last 30 minutes, both the backlines worked overtime and the sky-blues showed nerves in absence of Argentine defender Mariano Caporale.

It was Junior whose speed and skill during counter attacks proved too much for Pradip -- who replaced Caporale -- and the Nigerian created ample chances on breaks.

However, Manju once again weakly shot at Biplab who kept substitute Shakil's bending left-footed volley out of his far post. Junior threatened twice inside six minutes, but his curling chip from a tight angle went just wide before a cross was headed out by Pradip from the goalmouth for a corner.

Despite opening better opportunities, Abahani were stopped by their old goalkeeper Nizam who began a series of saves with a punch to clear Siraji's dangerous cross towards an unmarked Joy.

Nizam dived full stretch to pull off a one-handed save on Ibrahim's powerful volley on one-on-one after Jewel Rana's lapse inside the box had set the Ghanaian. Nazrul then failed to beat his old teammate after being left unguarded during a corner with three minutes remaining on the clock.

Substitute Zahed fluffed Abahani's last and perhaps the best chance on the stroke of the final whistle when the substitute midfielder, who had only Nizam to beat with a through from Pranotosh, volleyed over Nizam's crossbar.

Cruciani admitted that his more attacking formation did not work at the start.

"I changed to 4-4-2 after the break and the possession improved. The defence was under pressure in absence of Caporale as there was lack of understanding between Pradip and Nazrul," said Cruciani who rued the missed chances.

"But we played against a team who have been playing better match by match. They did not deserve to lose to Muktijoddha and looked fine today. This team is going to beat many teams in the rest of the league," he added.

Nayeemuddin gladly accepted the compliments and said Brothers should have won.

"Like the last match, we wasted many, many chances. The young boys have really been concentrating on their task and it a result of their efforts. Abahani are a strong team but looked like having an off-day against us," added the former Indian coach, who has yet to lose a match to Cruciani.

Under him, the Indian national team drew 1-1 with Bangladesh in the group stage before winning the final 2-0 in the SAFF Football Championship in Pakistan in December 2005.

Sheikh Russel Top Again

Sheikh Russel beat Khulna Abahani 2-0 today, to regain the top spot in the B. League. The match was a restart of yesterday's match, which was abandoned ten minutes from time due to floodlight failure.

Khoubbache Mohamad scored once again for Russel after only five minutes. Ighir Mohamed sealed the win after 81 minutes with a spot kick. The win leaves Russel with 15 points from 7 games and sitting on top.

Russel Kept Waiting

Sheikh Russel will have to wait for another day to regain the lead in the B. League table after their match against Khulna Abahani was abandoned ten minutes from time due to lack of floodlight.

The home side were leading 3-0 with first half goals from Moroccan midfielder Khoubbache Mohamad (who is pictured above, kissing the ground after scoring) and striker Maksudul Islam Bulbul and Mahmudul Hasan's second half strike as the last 15 minutes of the game was played in semi darkness at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, leading referee Abdul Hannan to stop the game after repeated requests from the Abahani booters.

The referee, however, had ignored earlier pleas of the visitors, who conceded the third goal under bad light due to lack of power supply for technical fault at the Bangabandhu Stadium sub-station.

After waiting regulation 40 minutes in vain, the match officials called off the day.

A fresh match will be held today at 4pm according to the bylaws although the league committee, who sat last night, could have had decided for a restart for the last ten minutes and relive the two teams from playing twice in as many days in the scorching summer heat. Representatives of both teams were present at the meeting, presided over by league committee chairman Abdur Rahim.

The bylaws say: "If a match is abandoned before the end of normal time or during any extra time because of unfit pitch, bad weather or force majeure, a 90 (ninety) minute replay must in principle be played the following day; if not otherwise decided by the B. League Committee."

The world over, matches abandoned due to inclement weather or similar technical problems usually resume from where play had stopped.

Russel, who started their seventh match on 12 points, will overtake Abahani (14 points from six games) in the table if they can win the game. Khulna Abahani, who pulled off a stunning 4-2 victory against Brothers Union in their last visit to Dhaka, are on six points from five outings.

The league committee has also decided to hasten kick-off time of all matches in Dhaka to 4pm from 4.45pm to avoid such incidents. Today's Brothers-Muktijoddha clash of the titans has been rescheduled for tomorrow.