Russel, who had suffered their first defeat to the same side in the first leg -- a 1-0 loss with Ugandan attacker Iddi Badambuze scoring the loan goal for Arambagh -- were without Moroccan skipper Bourdif and striker Younes and never looked like the team to beat in a dour match.

However, Noureddine Zaim got the first real chance for Russel but the Moroccan striker's sliding effort on a low cross by Kaiser missed the mark after six minutes.

Russel goalkeeper Zia then punched out a header by Arambagh top-scorer Nicodemus in the 20th minute after the Kenyan met a cross by right fullback Monu.

Zia once again denied Nicodemus a shot on goal eight minutes after the break when the Russel custodian came out of his area to kick the ball. However, Kenyan midfielder Domenic, who picked up the clearance, failed to keep his effort on target from 30 yards out of goal.

Two minutes later, Russel right fullback Aminul released a superb centre which missed the rival backline and his teammates to come off the far post with no one taking the rebound.

Russel, who remained at fourth place with 29 points from 17 games -- three points adrift of leaders Abahani who have a couple of matches in hand -- again survived midway through the second half. Nicodemus, who had only the keeper to beat, failed to properly connect a high cross by substitute Ridon, who played most of his half hour on the pitch with a bandage on head following an injury.

Russel also had two limping booters on the field after making all three changes but came close to snatch a late winner when Zaim got the ball off Kaiser during a melee.

But the Moroccan's shot from 12 yards went just wide in the 89th minute, ensuring Arambagh's second draw which pushed their collection to 20 points after 16 games.

There will be no matches today and the competition will resume tomorrow with Chittagong Mohammedan hosting Farashganj of Dhaka at the MA Aziz Stadium.