Abahani's Victory Day

Abahani's triumphant booters pose for a photograph with chief guest General Moeen U Ahmed, chairman of NSC and Army Chief, and tournament organisers after the Victory Day Club Cup final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.Photo: STAR

Abahani triumphed the first tournament of the year when they edged underdogs Arambagh Krira Sangha 3-2 in an entertaining final of the Protiti Pharma Victory Day Club Cup yesterday.
Zahid Hasan Emily and Abul Hossain made up for missing the semifinal victory against event hosts Mohammedan due to suspension with first-half strikes while player of the tournament Zahed Parvez fired the decisive goal after the break to bolster the 6,000-strong Abahani fans at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Arambagh, who refused to sit back, reduced the arrears through Kenyan player Domenic and guest midfielder Rezaul Karim Liton but failed to equalise despite threatening to score in the last quarter of the game.
Arambagh, who had lost 2-1 to Abahani in their first major final in the Federation Cup 11 years ago, looked menacing on set-pieces but two attempts by Liton -- on loan from Brothers Union -- hardly troubled Biplab at the sky-blues goal.
Abahani, who overcame a poor start with composed performance following a shock 1-0 loss to Badda Jagarani in the opener of the eight-team meet, found their rhythm soon and Ujjal forced Arambagh custodian Piru to keep the ball away.
The resulting corner in the 18th minute put Amalesh Sen's professional league champions ahead when Ujjal picked up Nazrul at the far post and the centre-back's headed pass was nodded into the back of the net by Abul.
Five minutes later, Emily made it 2-0 when he shot a rebound home for his fourth goal in the competition after Zahed's shot ricocheted off Piru.
The sky-blues were in total control but woodwork denied the Dhanmondi giants from a third goal when Zahed rattled the crossbar four minutes later.
Domenic, who earlier tested Biplab with a curling freekick, then brought Arambagh back with a sublime shot in the 35th minute. Imu floated a freekick from the right and Domenic, raring to go at the left, drilled a first-time volley with his left into the far corner.
Domenic came close to level the scores four minutes from the breather but his effort from 15 yards was brilliantly parried by a diving Biplab.
The national goalkeeper was working overtime and was as sharp as ever to thwart Liton's close-range drive just two minutes after resumption.
Despite unfit skipper Joy limping, Abahani regrouped and man-of-the-final Emily saw his powerful header blocked by a defender in the 52nd minute.
With second-choice holding midfielder Pranotosh unavailable for family commitments, fullback Mintu replaced Joy a minute later but it proved almost fatal as Abahani lost territorial advantage after their third goal in the 49th minute.
Sent racing into the box by Zahed, Emily fired a low drive but the tournament top scorer's shot was deflected by Piru who, however, could not stop an onrushing Zahed from slotting the ball into the open net.
Robin came in for Tipu but even the fresh legs of the young striker could not help his teammates, who began to fall further behind.
Biplab, otherwise perfect, almost gifted a goal when he waited too long for the ball to cross the line, allowing Domenic to snatch possession and cut it back. However, Wali's sliding tackle denied Liton a shot on the open goal in the 71st minute.
The two-goal cushion in the end, rescued Abahani as an aggressive Arambagh found the net 11 minutes from time. Liton, set by a square pass from Monu, shrugged off his marker Nazrul and survived a late tackle by Wali inside the box to shoot a low drive into Biplab's left hand post.
Joy admitted that Abahani drifted away from the game towards the end.
"This match was not like our previous three games. I could not give my full effort and I think the boys, after early goals, did not take Arambagh very seriously," the Abahani captain said.
"After going 2-0 up, we should have dominated the whole show. It was not so."
Zahed, who made his Premiership debut in 2002, said it was the most memorable event in his career.
"I had a wonderful tournament and I am pleased the way I have played. I have never performed so consistently in a tournament before," said the midfielder, who was not even in the line-up for Abahani's first match but won two awards for the tournament's best player.
Bangladesh National Sports Council chairman and Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed, who was introduced to the finalists before the match, later distributed trophies as chief guest.
Bangladesh Olympic Association acting secretary-general Kutubuddin Ahmed and tournament organisers Mohammedan Sporting Club officials were also present.
Yellow cards: Siraji (Abahani) and Monu (Arambagh)
Teams
Abahani: Biplab, Siraji, Nazrul, Pradip, Wali, Zahed, Joy (Mintu), Abul, Ujjal, Tipu (Robin) and Emily.
Arambagh: Piru, Imu, Ramjan, Wahid, Akram, Ratan, Monu, Juku, Domenic, Iddi and Liton.
Referee: Abdul Hannan.