Mohammedan back in contention with big win

Mohammedan SC bounced back strongly in their final group match of Federation Cup, handing an emphatic 4-1 defeat to Muktijoddha Sangsad KC at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

New signing, Nigerian forward Abiola Nurat, struck a brace after one goal apiece from Habibur Rahman Shohag and Mohammad Atikuzzaman. Uzbek forward Akbar Ali Kholdarov had earlier levelled the margin for Muktijoddha Sangsad, who have been struggling to clear their players' payments due to financial constraints.

Smarting from a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of archrivals Abahani in the first match, Mohammedan had no option but to go for a straight victory over the All Reds to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive, a stage the popular outfit qualified for thrice in the last five editions.

However, the last edition's semifinalists initially struggled against Muktijoddha Sangsad, who exposed the Mohammedan backline time and again like Abahani did in the first match, but the freedom fighters' side could not cash in on those opportunities due to poor finishing.

Muktijoddha Sangsad could have taken a lead in the 27th minute but Tarikul Islam drove wide from inside the box. Five minutes later Mohammedan striker Aminur Rahman Sajib surprisingly drove over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box.

Mohammedan finally broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute with Shohag finding the back of the net with a left-footed free kick taken on the top of the box.

They however hacked huge pressure from Muktijoddha Sangsad, who went close to levelling the margin thrice before Akbar Ali equalled with a header in the 68th minute. Five minutes later, Muktijoddha Sangsad could have taken the lead but Tarikul Islam squandered an opportunities despite dancing past two defenders inside the box.

After surviving the close calls, Mohammedan started to press and restored the lead in the 75th minute when Atikuzzaman nodded Japanese Uryu Nagata's goal-bound header home after a poor clearance from Muktijoddha's Akbar Ali.

Mohammedan then looked more vibrant up front with Sajib and Nurat interplaying nicely between themselves. Nurat received a Sajib lob inside the box to create space on his left foot before placing it into the far post in the 80th minute. Then Nurat, playing one-two with Sajib, sealed the victory with a powerful shot in the 83rd minute to help Mohammedan join Abahani on three points. If Muktijoddha Sangsad drop points in their last match against Abahani, Mohammedan and Abahani will advance to the knockout stage.  

In the day's second match, Bangladesh Police held three-time Fed Cup champions Sheikh Jamal DC to an exciting 2-2 draw to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive from Group A. The stalemate put Sheikh Russel into the last eight from the same group with their 1-0 win over Police in the first match.

However, any result other than a defeat for Sheikh Jamal will put Police out of the race.

Swadhin gave Police a lead in the 10th minute before Omar Jabe levelled it in the 50th minute. Defender Ariful Islam struck their own net in an attempt to clear the ball to help Police restore the lead in the 76th minute. However, the lead lasted only two minutes as Solomon King levelled the margin with a volley from close range.