Mohammedan Sporting Club football players (L) limber up during practice while their opponents in today's Grameenphone Federation Cup semifinal Sheikh Russel (R) do some stretching of their own at the BUET Ground yesterday.Photo: STAR

Star-studded Sheikh Russel KC are looking forward to making their maiden final of the Federation Cup when they square off against traditional powerhouses Mohammedan SC in the first semifinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today. The game gets underway at 5:00pm.
Sheikh Russel have never reached the final of the season's curtain-raising tournament since their appearance in the top-level football in 2003. The going is no easier this time, as they face a team aiming for their 15th final appearance in Mohammedan.
But the new Sheikh Russel is a strong team comprised of nine national players and three quality foreign players and if anyone can break this jinx, this team can, as evidenced by their four wins on the trot. The wins have also come in style, with Russel finding the back of the net 14 times.
Their compact-midfield comprising of Mamunul Islam, Moroccan Tarik El Janaby, Haitian Sony Norde and Zahid Hossain is the backbone behind Sheikh Russel's success and the team management will definitely be hoping for consistent performance from both forwards and midfielders in the crucial game.
Sheikh Russel may also take inspiration from their 2-0 win over Mohammedan in the group-stage match where they dominated in a deserved victory.
“It is a new game and new day so the players will have to prove themselves again,” said Sheikh Russel coach Maruful Haque. “If the players can perform properly, we can hope to book the final seat.”
On the other hand, Mohammedan are also dreaming of the final berth for a record 15 times and for the first time in three seasons.
But the Black and Whites are happy to pass on the favourite tag, after surrendering to Russel in their group game and making it into this stage only after a pulsating shoot-out win against Team BJMC in the quarterfinal.
“We will go there as an underdog and play without pressure. We will try to avail every advantages,” Mohammedan coach Saiful Bari Titu said. “But it is sure that we will take a cautious approach against them instead of adopting any attacking based game.”
Titu, who last season guided Sheikh Jamal to win the Federation Cup, has also spotted weakness in the Sheikh Russel backline and wants to avail those gaps by utilizing the speedy Shohel Rana who will be back in the side after his one-match suspension.