Perfect ten for MSC

Three of the goalscorers for Mohammedan -- (from L) Rasel Mahmud Jimmy, Sheikh Mohammad Nannu, Tanku Ahmed Tajuddin -- and Istiaque Ahmed join in celebration after one of their goals against Abahani in their Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League match at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.Photo: STAR

Title contenders Mohammedan SC twice came from behind to beat archrivals Abahani 4-3 in the last match of the first leg of Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Winger Sheikh Mohammad Nannu, Malaysian forward Tanku Ahmed Tajuddin, defender Mamunur Rahman Chayan and striker Rasel Mahmud Jimmy scored one goal apiece for Mohammedan while al three of the Abahani goals were scored by Pakistani defender Kashim Ali. The match was an entertaining one as it swung from one side to the other before the Black and Whites had the last laugh and exacted revenge for their defeat in the Club Cup semifinal earlier in May. The match, meanwhile, was held up for 20 minutes as Abahani players refuted a decision by the Indian umpire.
The win for Mohammedan, their tenth in ten matches, put them on top of the 11-team table with maximum 30 points, and gives them a healthy three point lead over second placed Usha, going into the Super Five stage. Abahani, on the other hand, have some heavy catch-up to do as they have only 24 points.
From the outset, both Abahani and Mohammedan put on an attacking display and Abahani almost took the lead in the fifth minute but Mohammedan skipper Moshiur Rahman Biplob came to the rescue by foiling the attack for a long corner.
Abahani grew more formidable as the match progressed and won the first penalty corner in the 16th minute which Kashim, in combination with Iqbal Nadir Prince and Moshiur Rahman Firoz, converted to give the lead.
Mohammedan came into the match with an unexpected goal in the 27th minute and the goal led to a hold up.
Abahani claimed that deflected into their own net off defender Kashim Ali was struck by Nannu from outside the circle and demanded cancellation of the goal but the Indian umpire, after discussing with reserve umpires and hockey federation officials, struck to his decision and the play resumed after 20 minutes.
Three minutes before the break, Mohammedan took the lead with a brilliant goal from Malaysian forward Tajuddin played a neat one-two with Jimmy before hammering a fierce reverse hit past Abahani goalkeeper Aynul Islam.
After resumption, Abahani won their third penalty corner which gave way to a penalty stroke when Mohammedan defender Chayan stopped it with legs in front of goal and Kashim converted the stroke to make it 2-2 in the 41st minute.
Abahani kept pressing and won their fourth penalty corner in the 57th minute and Kashim Ali made no mistake this time either to give Abahani some breathing space. But Mohammedan did not give up and hit back twice in the last ten minutes to snatch the match from their archrivals.
The first of those two goals was a penalty corner converted by Chayan in the 62nd minute while the second was finished off by Jimmy in the 64th minute.
“We never lost the belief despite going down twice and we knew we would return if we won a penalty corner and we did it,” said Chayan after the game while his coach Peter Gerhard refused to talk with the reporters.
“The boys could not take the pressure in the last moments of the game and suffered defeat which derails us from the title race,” said Abahani coach Mahbub Harun.