Chittagong Abahani through after draw against Sk Jamal
Chittagong Abahani moved into the semifinals of the KFC Independence Cup with a come-from-behind 1-1 draw with leaders Sheikh Jamal DC in their final group match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The stalemate saw Sheikh Jamal emerge as Group A champions with 13 points from five outings. They will now face either Abahani or Team BJMC in the semifinal while Chittagong Abahani -- with 10 points from five matches -- will face Group B champions Sheikh Russel KC.
Since Sheikh Jamal had already qualified for the last-four battle with a match to spare, the game was crucial for big-budget Chittagong Abahani, especially with Muktijoddha Sangsad nipping at their heels with an equal nine points. But now Chittagong Abahani can breathe a sigh of relief as they too have booked their semifinal seat.
Besides all this, the match was particularly interesting due to the off-field battle both sides are embroiled in over the control of five footballers. However, the animosity was not visible on-field.
Meanwhile, the fate of those five footballers is still to be decided in the court of the BFF's players' status committee.
Chittagong Abahani, who came into the match after a morale-shattering 0-5 drubbing at the hands of a youthful Mohammedan, were much-improved but their efforts were not enough to take them past Sheikh Jamal, who debuted Egyptian defender Eligilani Nagi in place of midfielder Landing Darboe.
The port-city outfit nearly snatched the lead in the 13th minute when Leonel Saint Preux darted into the box after a quick exchange with Shariful Islam. And with only Sheikh Jamal goalkeeper Mazharul Islam Himel left to beat, the Haitian hitman shot over the crossbar.
Landing's absence was felt as he is usually the playmaker to the lethal attacking pair of Wedson Anselme and Emeka Darlington, hence Sheikh Jamal struggled to expose the Chittagong Abahani backline. Due to a bad tackle from goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana in the 17th minute, Sheikh Jamal were awarded a penalty which Darlington tucked away.
After resumption, Chittagong Abahani pressed hard for the equaliser as Preux drove into the box, but his curled shot was tipped over the crossbar by Sheikh Jamal keeper Himel.
However, Himel was powerless to stop the a powerful header from Alison Udoka in the 73rd minute as Chittagong Abahani secured a semifinal berth in a top level domestic competition for the first time.
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