Baridhara relegated

Players and officials of Uttar Baridhara Club on Sunday ended a bitter top flight campaign with a 6-0 drubbing by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club that also confirmed their demotion from the Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. PHOT: STAR

Having played for only one season in the top flight, Uttar Baridhara Club have been relegated from the professional football league when the newcomers suffered a 6-0 defeat to Sheikh Jamal DC in the Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Baridhara had no alternative but to beating champions Sheikh Jamal in their penultimate match to keep their relegation's play-off match alive against Feni Soccer Club, but they had to taste their 18th defeat in 26 matches that left the side unable to close a six-point gap from their nearest rivals Feni Soccer with only one match in hand.
Uttar Baridhara have now 12 points, six behind ninth-placed Feni Soccer, who still have two matches in hand.
Uttar Baridhara are the third team after Shuktara Jubo Sangsad of Narayanganj and Sylhet's Beanibazar SC in history of the professional football league to be demoted from the country's top league after playing just one season.
Of the 30 matches that Uttar Baridhara played this season till yesterday, they posted only two wins -- over Brothers Union and Team BJMC -- and six draws against 22 defeats, with their biggest defeat, 8-0, coming against Sheikh Jamal. Baridhara also probably made the ignominious record of conceding maximum goals in a single season after conceding 91 goals so far.
On the other hand, after having confirmed the coveted title in the previous season, Sheikh Jamal drafted in the benchers like Sakhawat Hossain Rony, Toklish Ahmed, Shahedul Alam in place of Mamunul Islam, Emeka Darlington and Sony Norde (who left Bangladesh on Saturday night to join Belgian club Oostende FC in coming season) and Rony slammed a treble only in his second match that he was drafted in the starting eleven.
Rony provided Sheikh Jamal the lead after five minutes with an angular shot before Ghanaian hitman Wedson Anselme doubled it in the 17th minute with a shot that found the back of the net after kissing the far post.
Rony then made it 3-0 with a low drive in the 24th minute and Toklish widened it 4-0 in the 78th minute while Rony completed his hattrick in the 89th minute with a nice volley.
Wedson finally sealed the match, striking in the stoppage time that also raised his tally to 24 goals, three short of Abdus Salam Murshedy's all-time record of 27 goals in a league and the Ghanaian striker will get another chance against Sheikh Russel to break the record.