Feni bring down Sky Blues

The two goal scorers of Feni Soccer Club Mohammad Yasin (R) and Ronald salute the sparse crowd at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur after their stunning 2-1 win over giants Abahani.Photo: STAR

Holders Abahani were stunned in the Grameen-phone Federation Cup when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to minnows Feni Soccer Club in their last group match at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.
The defeat, however, was not enough to stop Abahani from progressing as they had already secured their qualification berth prior to the encounter. For Feni Soccer, the victory was a case of bowing out with sweet memories as they failed to make it into the last eight. Arambagh KS piped them to the runners-up spot with a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh Police at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Nigerian midfielder Amadi Mosses put Arambagh ahead in the 20th minute while his compatriot Umokoro Godwin sealed the match scoring eight mintues from time.
Both Arambagh and Feni Soccer have four points each but Arambagh confirmed their berth by virtue of goal difference.
After having confirmed the quarterfinal place with two successive victories, Abahani might have taken the Feni Soccer game lightly and coach Ali Akbar experimented by resting four first-team players including in-form striker Lucky Paul. The result however was an embarrassing loss against the same side who had stunned them last season in the Bangladesh League.
Left-back Wali Faisal and right-back Nasirul Islam were two of four rested players and their absence created a big hole in the Abahani defence and attack.
Though Abahani could not launch their preferred flank attacks, they did enjoy superior ball possession throughout the game and were repeatedly denied by Feni goalkeeper Masud Ahmed Uzzal.
The lanky goalkeeper thwarted at least three scoring chances to keep Abahani at bay and give Feni Soccer something to cheer about. His best moment came when the thwarted defender Siraji's long-range effort in the 21st minute with a stunning save.
The next minute, Feni took a surprise lead as Abahani goalkeeper Shahidul Alam and defender Mamun Mia both hesitated to clear a Shahed through ball and Feni's Nigerian striker Ronald grasped the opportunity to send the ball home with an angular shot to silence Abahani supporters and officials.
A few minutes later, goalkeeper Uzzal again rescued Feni Soccer by tipping over a curling free-kick from Awudu Irahim and Uzzal then made another superb save by foiling the Ghanaian Twum Frank's shot at his near post on 55 minutes.
Abahani were awarded a penalty on 65 minutes when defender Victor made obstacle Nasir to receive a through pass from Towhid inside the box. Twum Frank converted the spot kick to level the margin but there was still something waiting for Abahani.
Striker Robin made a mistake inside their territory and Roland raced to enter the box before lashing in a shot that was blocked by Abahani goalkeeper Sohel. The loose ball fell to the unmarked Mohammad Yeasin, who struck from a difficult angle to bring down the high-flying Abahani.
“After confirming the quarterfinals spot, this match was the best time to test the players of the reserve bench but they made too many mistakes and let us go down. But, I will play my best players in the quarterfinal,” said Abahani coach Ali Akbar.
“Though we could not qualify for the quarterfinals but we are happy to beat a team like Abahani and we believe this victory will inspire our players to play better in the upcoming league,” said Feni coach Rezaul Haq Jamal.