Beanibazar shock Russel

Md. Rony (2nd from R) of Sheikh Russel is being closely marked by Beanibazar defender Ashraful Karim (2nd from L) during their Federation Cup match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.Photo: STAR

Newcomers Beanibazar SC continued their impressive performance in the Citycell Federation Cup and almost confirmed their quarterfinal berth with an upset 3-0 win over Sheikh Russel KC at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Substitute Sohel Rana, Rashed Ahmed Pappu and Toufiq Hasan Gofur struck a goal apiece to put Beanibazar on top of the Group C point table with six points, three ahead of Sheikh Russel and Bangladesh Army.
A draw against Farashganj SC on Sunday would be enough for Beanibazar to enter the knockout phase.
After being humiliated 8-1 by Sheikh Russel, Bangladesh Army yesterday bounced back to keep their hopes of playing the last eight alive with an emphatic 3-0 win over Farashganj SC, who faces an early exit after two defeats in a row.
Azmal Hossain, Shahin Mia and Tutul scored one goal each for Bangladesh Army.
In the day's first match, Sheikh Russel enjoyed a first-half with superior ball possession compared to their unknown rivals, Beanibazar, but there was no sign of what they put on show against Bangladesh Army in their group opener.
Striker Mohammad Rony, who struck fours against the Solders, came close to opening the account with a solo effort, but the Sheikh Russel striker, with only the goalkeeper to beat, took much time to allow defender Ashraful to clear.
Beanibazar coach Jasimuddin Ahmed Joshi sent Sohel Rana on the right in place of injured Layek Ahmed and he got the immediate reward as Rana after being set up by captain Faisal Mahmud tapped home two minutes into the second half.
After going down, Sheikh Russel went all out keeping their backline unprotected and conceded two more goals, mainly because of the faulty defence.
Pappu played a cute one-two with Guinean striker Lamine Soumah to advance into the danger zone before latching a powerful shot to find the back of Sheikh Russel net in the 68th minute while Gofur sealed the match with an easy push after being set up by Lamime, who, however, squandered three easy sitters in the second half.
In the second match of the day, Army went ahead with a 21-minute goal from Azmal before Shahin doubled the margin in the 33rd minute.
Tutul struck the third goal in the 73rd minute to see off Farashganj SC coached by Abu Yousuf.