Abahani meet Farashganj in 1st semi today
Farashganj will take inspiration from their all-win run in the Citycell Federation Cup to challenge mighty Abahani for a berth in Monday's final when they meet in the last four.
The Abahani-Farashganj first semifinal will kick off today at 5 pm the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Farashganj have won all their four matches including a 2-0 quarterfinal victory against fellow B. League side Arambagh and the riversiders will heavily rely on the scoring ability of Enamul Haque.
Five-goal Enamul, the tournament's second highest scorer, has struck in every match but he will have to be in his best against the tightest defence of the competition although title contenders Abahani miss skipper Nazrul through suspension.
Abahani's winning run is blemished by a goalless draw against Chittagong Mohammedan in a group match but the sky-blues made the semifinals knocking out giants Sheikh Russel 2-0.
Amalesh Sen's men have so far conceded just one goal in four games and the return of ex-international Sujan at the heart of defence with full form proved they did not miss Nazrul's service at all in the quarterfinal.
History, though, will be against Farashganj, who have reached this stage of the Federation Cup for the second time after 2000 when they had eventually lost to Arambagh.
While Kamal Babu's Farashganj pin hopes on Enamul and slightly on two-goal Mamun, Abahani's ten goals in the meet have been mostly shared by Emily, who netted his fourth goal inside the first minute of the quarterfinal against Russel and surprisingly, Arif Khan Joy, who has three goals to his name although the holding midfielder is not famous as a marksman.
Ghana's striker Pomeyie has scored twice for the inaugural B. League champions but he was not used in the last match as Abahani look unsatisfied with his performance.
Although the Federation Cup has yet to draw big crowds, Bangladesh Television will telecast the two semifinals and the final live.
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