Having handcuffed the black and whites for the first 45 minutes at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, the visitors gave away two quick goals inside the first ten minutes of the second half.

Nepalese striker Santosh Sahukhal pulled one back for Chittagong Abahani who tried hard in search of an equaliser but failed to break the shackles as Shafiqul Islam Manik's side went into a tight defensive shell.

With their ninth win in 16 attempts, Mohammedan came level with their Dhaka archrival Abahani, who are on 32 points and take on Brothers in their crucial 16th game tomorrow.

Muktijoddha still lead the table with 33 points from 17 outings while second-from-bottom Chittagong Abahani stuck to 12 points also after 17 matches.

Mohammedan, 3-1 victors against Chittagong Abahani in the away match last April, took time to settle against a spirited side, who were also beaten 2-1 by a last minute goal during their last trip to the capital against Abahani of Dhaka.

After equal ball possession, Mohammedan got their first real chance after 20 minutes when Emeka met a left-flank cross by Kamal but headed the ball wide. The resulting goalkick came to Mohammedan midfielder Zahid who found Emeka inside the box with a centre but the Nigerian's effort missed the mark again.

Five minutes later, Abahani defender Monirul made a goalline save when Paul toe-poked the ball from close after Emeka had turned Kamal's corner with a header towards the Mohammedan captain's path.

Mohammedan maintained the pressure but the Chittagong Abahani's Nepalese goalkeeper Surendra punched out a 30-yard drive by Sharif in the 45th minute.

Surendra was working overtime and he had to dive full length in the first-half added time to keep a close-range shot by Emeka.

Nepalese international Santosh threatened to score four minutes after resumption but his low drive was parried by Himel's reflex at the Mohammedan near post.

Paul finally broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute when the robust Mohammedan skipper, waiting eagerly at the far post, put a powerful header home after Zahid crossed the ball from the right. The goal took Paul's tally to 14 and share the joint top-scorer's place with Brothers' Nigerian striker Junior.

Two minutes later, Emeka doubled the lead from a seemingly offside position when he broke a trap to clinically finish from just inside the box with a low drive past an onrushing Surendra for his ninth goal.

Santosh got his second league goal with a sublime freekick outside from the box when the man from the Himalayans curled a right-footer into Himel's near post.

The black and whites looked more interested to hold on to the slim lead and coach Manik pushed defender Belal in place of a more attacking Zahid.

The attacks in the rest of the game contained within long-range efforts that really did not bother the keepers as the Dhaka giants reached safety.