Russel firmly in third
Sheikh Russel KC returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over visitors Beanibazar SC in their Citycell Bangladesh League encounter at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Moroccan striker Samir Omari gave Sheikh Russel a first-half lead before Mohammad Rony ensured the win in the second half and lifted Sheikh Russel to 47 points from 20 outings, still well behind second-placed Mohammedan SC's 52.
Smarting from a 2-2 draw against hosts Chittagong Mohammedan SC in the previous match, Sheikh Russel made a brilliant start against the bottom-ranked Beanibazar and had to wait just five minutes to open the account following a fumble from a defender.
Rony having snatched the ball from Ujjal advanced into the danger zone to cut it back to unmarked Omari, who tapped the ball in from handshaking distance to raise his goal tally to 15, still two behind top scorer Abahani's Enamul Haque.
Sheikh Russel kept on creating chances through the wings, but striking duo Rony and Omari squandered at least three easy chances from close range against a side who they thrashed 3-0 in their away game in Sylhet.
Newcomers Beanibazar, who have been struggling to avert an elimination from the prestigious league with 13 points from 20 games, had virtually no bite in the game. The visitors appeared suffering from a lack of combination in all three departments though they split Sheikh Russel's backline on a few occasions but their strikers' drives on target were too weak to trouble the opponent goalkeeper Mamun Khan, who however, once made a good save having thwarted an effort from Benjamin Cooper in the first half.
After the resumption, the visitors made three changes but it had hardly any impact on the game and Sheikh Russel doubled the margin in the 72nd minute with Rony heading Moroccan winger Jamal Nakhli's corner home.
TEAMS
SHEIKH RUSSEL: Mamun Khan, Zahirul Islam, Ramjan Ali, Abass Inusha, Rajon Mia, Khokon Das (Sunny), Aminul Islam, Rony, Samir Omari and Jamal Nakhli.
BEANIBAZAR: Sultan Ahmed, Ashraful Karim, Mosheul Kabir, Abid Hossain, Ujjal Khan, Khalid Saifullah, Rashed Ahmed (Jayed Ahmed), Shohel Rana (Ashiqur Rahman), Toufiq Hasan (Jewel Rana) and M Masum.
Yellow cards: Mosheul (Beanibazar)
Referee: Mizanur Rahman
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