Goalless day sees Abahani on top
10-man Abahani held Sheikh Russell to a goalless draw, moving six points clear of nearest rivals Chittagong Abahani in their Bangladesh Premier League encounter at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The four-time professional league champions, who are on top of the table with 43 points from 19 matches, will need seven points from their remaining three matches to take an unassailable lead, given Chittagong Abahani win their remaining four matches.
A match which was marked by lack of scoring opportunities, the Sky Blues had the first opening on four minutes when league's top-scorer Sunday Chizoba danced past a defender and let loose a rather meek attempt at goal, which was scrambled for a corner by Sheikh Russel goalkeeper Biplob Bhattacharjee.
Sunday threatened Sheikh Russel goal again on the half-hour mark when he placed a shot from the left hand side of the box, this time denied by a last-ditch effort from a Sheikh Russel defender.
Abahani were dealt a heavy blow when their inspirational midfielder Andrew Lee Tuck was shown a straight red card for a harrowing challenge on Sheikh Russel's Jean Jules Ikanga, but it was the Sky Blues who remained the dominant force.
Abahani coach George Kottan made a surprise substitution, sacrificing Sunday for a midfielder at the start of the second half but that hardly eased the pressure on Sheikh Russel. Emon Babu unleashed a clever side-volley from top of the box on 64 minutes, only to see the ball coming off the Sheikh Russel post.
The All Blues made a couple of forays inside the Abahani box, but hardly troubled goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel. There were a lot of aimless attacks at either end of the pitch towards the latter stages of the game, but eventually both teams settled for a draw, a result which took Sheikh Russel to seventh position on 21 points.
Meanwhile, defending champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club lost even more ground in their bid to secure a second-place finish after being held to a goalless draw by Brothers Union. The result of the lacklustre first match of the day saw the three-time champions stay seven points behind Chittagong Abahani, with three matches left to play. Chittagong Abahani, however, have four matches in hand.
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