MSC-BJMC split points

Team BJMC defender Obaidur (R) clears the ball before Mohammedan's Ghanaian forward Osei Morison could pose any threat during their Grameenphone Bangladesh Premier League match that ended in a 1-1 draw at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.Photo: STAR

A last-gasp strike from Osei Morison helped Moha-mmedan to a 1-1 draw against Team BJMC in their Grameenphone Bangladesh Premier League encounter at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Nigerian hitman Eleta Kingsley put BJMC ahead in the first half only to see his effort cancelled by Morison two minutes from time. The event was a repeat of their first meeting where BJMC went ahead with a strike from Ismael Bangoura before Morison leveled the margin in the dying moments.
The outcome also helped both sides stick to their previous positions of the nine-team table with Mohammedan remaining fourth with 17 points from 12 matches while BJMC stayed behind Mohammedan with 16 points from 12 outings.
Mohammedan came into the game on the back of a morale boosting win over title contenders Sheikh Russel KC but the Black and Whites failed to keep their momentum in the face of several attacks from BJMC and were rescued once again by league top-scorer Morison.
“Inconsistency has been a big problem for Mohammedan. The players should have carried the spirit they showed against Sheikh Russel but they could not do it against BJMC. I am happy to get one lucky point rather than lose three points,” said Mohammedan stand-in-coach Jewel Rana adding that they were targeting to finish the league either third or fourth.
After surviving two close calls inside the first 25 minutes, Mohammedan mustered their first attack in the 34th minute when winger Shariful Islam whipped a cross from the right for Morison, who just needed to beat opponent goalkeeper Arifuzzaman Himel but miscued his header.
BJMC took the
deserved lead in the 45th minute when Ismael Bangoura raced past two Mohammedan defenders from the right to cut it back for the unmarked Eleta Kingsley, who fired home from the edge of the six-yard box.
After the resumption, Mohammedan came close to leveling the margin but Morison headed a Shariful Islam cross from the
right over the crosspiece in the 51st minute while Kingsley raced into the Mohammedan box to shoot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat in the 73rd minute.
When it seemed that BJMC were going to leave the pitch with a victory, Mohammedan equalised the margin with a close-range strike from Morison, who fired home from inside the six-yard box after a header of Wahed Ahmed fell to him two minutes from time.
It was the fourth time that BJMC failed to cash in on their lead in the league. BJMC were leading 2-1 against Sheikh Jamal at one stage before suffering 2-3 defeat. They also suffered a 3-4 defeat against Sheikh Russel despite taking a 2-0 lead at one stage. BJMC also had to be content with two draws against Mohammedan despite leading the margin at one stage.
“The players always lose their concentration in the big matches though I motivated them well to keep their nerve. May be the players suffered from psychological breakdown in the big matches and we could not recover from the problem,” said BJMC coach Jakaria Babu.