Grameenphone Super Cup

Reds rally to hold MSC

9 July 2011, 18:00 PM

Sports Reporter

Teammates converge to congratulate Mithun Chowdhury (C) after the Muktijoddha striker scored the equaliser against Mohammedan Sporting Club during their opening Grameenphone Super Cup match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The Reds came from two-goal down to draw the match 2-2.Photo: Anisur Rahman

Defending champions Mohammedan Sporting Club gave away a two-goal advantage to share points in their opening match of the Grameenphone Super Cup against Muktijoddha Sangsad at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The Black and Whites dominated the first-half, taking a two-goal lead very early, but let the Reds claw back after conceding a soft goal right before the break. The momentum shifted completely in the second-half as Muktijodhha equalised. They could have even won the game, but for profligacy from their strikers they had to remain content with a draw. In the end, both coaches were fairly satisfied that they had at least got a point from their opening match. Mohammedan coach conceded things could have been much worse had the opposition strikers capitalised on their chances. "We made many mistakes in the defence, and probably got a bit complacent with a two-goal lead which cost us in the end. The turning point was conceding the first goal, which was a very bad one to concede for the keeper. But overall I am happy with a point because things could have been worse." Muktijoddha coach Maruful Haque blamed club officials for unwisely announcing new contracts to a few players that he felt adversely affected the players' performance on the pitch. "Even though we should have won the match on the field, I won't blame the boys. They lost motivation with the announcements of new contracts to several of them on the night before the tournament started." Back to the match, Mohammedan started brightly and made most of the impression making the Muktijoddha defence sweat with pacy manoeuvres down the right flank. It took only eight minutes to take the lead through Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba. The lead was doubled four minutes later, this time a left-footed corner from Touhidul Alam found Abdul Hamid Vashani unmarked inside the box and the shaven headed defender found the back of the net with a delightful volley. Mutijoddha, despite seeing very little of the ball in the earlier exchanges, took a few attempts on target. First it was a chip from Alamu Bukola that missed the target by a whisker and then Mithun Chowdhury's bicycle kick brought an acrobatic save from Mohammedan keeper Al Hasan. The Reds found a fortunate opening into the match when they were gifted a goal by Al Hasan on the brink of half-time. A Matiur Munna cross from the right was headed by Russian striker Boris Kotchikin which the goalie gathered safely, before he let it slip through his grips as he hit the ground. Bukola was lurking right in front, and tapped it in with utmost ease. That goal proved pivotal in the course of the match as Muktijoddha came back hard right from the beginning of the second-half and deservedly got the equaliser in the 51st minute through Mithun. Bukola's low cross deflected off Mohammedan defender Baybeck before the goalie could get to it, and Mithun finished it off with a clever flick. Mithun should have sealed the match in the next twenty minutes as he found ample space and time to beat the goalie from a one-on-one situation, but each time he blasted awfully wide off the target leaving both clubs to share the spoils. TEAMS
MUKTIJODDHA: Biplop Bhattacharjee, Rajani Kanta, Motiur Munna (Rajon Miah), Mithun Chowdhury, Bukola, Yeamin Munna, Arman Aziz, Dami Emmanuel, Maruf Ahmed (Zahed Ahmed), Nasir Uddin, Boris Kothcikin (Alamgir Kabir) MOHAMMEDAN: Al Hassan, Al Mamun, AH Vashani, Anwar Hossain, Akteruzzaman Liton, Shariful Islam (Rony Islam), Amani, Nche Francis, Baybeck, Sunday Chizoba, Touhidul Alam (Arafat Ali) Man-of-the-match: Shariful Islam (Mohammedan)