Chittagong Abahani bow out

Holders Chittagong Abahani surrendered a lead and crashed out of the Shiekh Kamal International Club Cup after suffering a 1-2 defeat to Pocheon Citizen FC in the second semifinal at the MA Aziz Stadium yesterday.

The defending champions' elimination means Friday's final will be an affair between two foreign outfits -- Pochecon Citizen of South Korea and Maldives' TC Sports Club.

Yesterday's was a battle between a top-tier side from Bangladesh and a third-tier side from South Korea, but the visitors clearly had the edge in terms of approach, skill, movement, fitness and technique which helped them come out on top despite falling one goal behind.

Chittagong Abahani coach Saiful Bari Titu made three changes to the squad that played out a 2-2 draw with Manang Marsyangdi Club and the 4-5-1 formation seemed to be working well initially as the hosts went ahead in the first half. However, as they dropped the line and defended deep after taking the lead, they faced tremendous pressure from Pocheon.

Abahani burst out of the gates and came close to taking the lead in the fifth minute when Mamunul Islam released a pass from outside the box, but Brazilian striker Thiago Tyson squandered the chance despite Pocheon goalkeeper Choi Ang Seong's late reaction.

However, Abahani did take the lead in the 24th minute as Jamal Bhuiyan tapped in a corner-kick from Mamunul. After that, the home side went on the defensive, allowing Pocheon to pile on the pressure.

Goalkeeper Ashraful Islam made two nice saves to keep Abahani's lead intact, but he could not deny Jang Yong IK, who stepped up to the spot and levelled the match after Mutfal Lawal had brought down Park Seong Ryeol inside the box in the 43rd minute.

Chittagong Abahani conceded a second goal just one minute into the second half as Park Seong Ryeol, who was later adjudged man-of-the-match, struck the back of the net following a goal-mouth-melee.

With their hand forced, Chittagong Abahani went all-out and carved a couple of opportunities, but Haitian striker Augustin Walson and defender Nasir Chowdhury wasted the chances. Walson failed to tap home from close range, while Nasir headed wide in the 87th minute.

The home side failed to find the equaliser despite Pocheon being reduced to 10 men after 85 minutes, but Titu pointed to their frailty in defense as the reason behind the loss.

“If you can't defend well, it is not possible to win the match and today's [Tuesday's] match was evidence of that. Despite taking the lead, we lost the match due to silly mistakes. We could not stop the Korean attacks from our left-side because our players could not keep up with their quick rotations, false runs and quick movements,” the Chittagong Abahani lamented at the post-match briefing.

“We did not play defensive football. I have to admit that we suffered defeat against a better side,” added Titu.

 “It was a difficult match as expected but we came out victorious and moved into the final. However, we played better today compared to our last two matches,” Pocheon coach Kim Jae Young said.