Saif SC see off Baridhara

Title aspirant Saif SC began their Federation Cup campaign in fine fashion with an emphatic 3-0 win over lightweights Uttar Baridhara Club in the Group B opener at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Saif SC might posted what seemed an easy triumph based on the scoreline, but they faced a stiff challenge and they kept at bay for 48 minutes before a suicidal mistake from Baridhara -- perhaps a consequence of just 10 days of practice ahead of the tournament -- handed them the breakthrough.

The youthful Saif SC team, featuring three to four national players, dominated pre-season discussions after vibrant performances in warm-up matches against Sheikh Russel, Mohammedan and Bangladesh Police. However, they found the going tough in their first competitive match under Belgian coach Paul Put.

Saif SC, playing in a 4-1-2-3 formation, tried to penetrate from the flanks, with left-back Rahmat Mia and right-back Yeasin Arafat delivering numerous crosses that were fended off effortlessly by Baridhara's Egyptian defender Abdel Rahim.

Coach Zahidur Rahman Milon saw his side go close to taking the lead twice in the first half but Saif SC goalkeeper Pappu Hossain denied Uzbek midfielder Evgeniy Kochnev in the 21st minute while Sujon Biswas tumbled inside the box after receiving a nice cut-back from Egypt's Abdel Khalek Hammad and let a scoring chance pass him by two minutes from the break.

"First of all, we could not maintain the tempo that we have seen during training session. So I found my players were not that good," Put said. "After the break, I briefed them to have patience and changed the tactics to expose the opponent's backline. We dominated the second half and had 70 to 75 per cent possession. We were also a bit lucky to get an own goal from the opponents. Still we have a long way to go and it is always important to have a good start."

Saif SC gained a stranglehold in the second half and Abdel Rahim bundled into his own net while attempting to clear a low cross from Saif SC's Uzbek midfielder Sirojuddin Rakhmatullaev four minutes into the second half.

Instead of whipping in crosses as they had been doing, Saif SC employed crisp passing while inviting their opponents to press and effectively exploited the spaces left behind.

Nigeria's Ikechukwu Ngwoke collected the ball near the halfway line and made a daunting run into the box before firing a powerful shot past goalkeeper Azad Hossain in the 63rd minute before Faisal Ahmed Fahim ran into the box down the left and found the inside of the near post to ensure victory in the 68th minute.

In the day's second match, Arambagh posted a 2-0 win over Brothers Union, courtesy of strikes from Murad Hossain Chowdhury and Nigeria's Chizoba Christopher.

Brothers, who came into the tournament on the back of just two days of preparation, could have left the field with a point but the forwards squandered a few good chances.