Enamul on fire

Striker Enamul Haque struck a brace as defending champions Abahani came from behind to post a 3-1 win over Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society in the Citycell Bangladesh League at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.
The holders, unbeaten in 18 games in the League including 11 matches last season, got goosebumps as early as in the eighth minute when Rahmatganj's Nigerian midfielder Onyokoro Felix send the ball home thanks to some sloppy goalkeeping from Biplob who let loose a beefy shot despite grabbing it by both hands.
The goal sounded a warning for Abahani, who lost their opening game against the Old Town outfit 1-2 last season. But with Enamul in sublime touch the Sky Blues bounced back in ruthless fashion, making sure they took the lead even before both teams set off for the lemon break.
Enamul struck his first goal in the 40th minute. After receiving a long ball from Ghanaian Awudu Ibrahim, the long-haired poacher let fly a spectacular volley giving no chance for Rahmatganj custodian Arifuzzaman Himel to react.
Awudu, who marshalled the midfield, gave Abahani the lead at the stroke of the breather heading home a Mehdi Hasan Ujjal minus.
Two minutes into the second half, Enamul struck his sixth league goal to surpass his teammate Sheriff Din Mohammad and rivals Mohammedan striker Zahid Hasan Emily as the leading scorer. Latching on a defence splitting pass from Awudu, Enamul slipped past his marker before placing the ball past an advancing Rahmatganj custodian.
It was a satisfying result for an injury-hit Abahani, who started the match without key defenders Rajani Kanta Barman, Ibnul Siraji and in-form striker Sheriff.
Awudu also came close to widening the margin in the first-paced game when he headed a Zahed Parvez freekick wide in the 52nd minute while Rahamatganj substitute goalkeeper Nehal tipped over a Sujan header in the 80th minute.
Rahmatganj were deprived of a goal nine minutes from time when a powerful drive from Felix came off the crossbar much to the relief of Abahani goalkeeper Biplob.
Abahani coach Amalesh Sen made three changes in the second half with Rajani playing the last 10 minutes as a midfielder just to assess his fitness status.
It was Rahmatganj's fifth defeat and third in a row in six outings.
TEAMS
ABAHANI: Biplob, Sujan, Nazrul, Atiqur Rahman Mishu, Zahed Parvez, Pranotosh Kumar Das, Ujjal (Shahedul Alam), Enamul, Samad Yousuf, Awudu Ibrahim and Mohammad Awal (Rajani).
RAHMATGANJ MFS: Himel (Nehal), Jahangir Patwary, Asif Hossain, Ddumba Michael (Hamid Sheikh), Anisur Alam, Felix, Kabir Hossain, Choumrin Rakhine (M Mamun), Idris Kasirye and Russel Alam.
Yellow cards: Ujjal (Abahani), Choumrin (Rahmatganj)
Referee: Azad Rahman.