Action from yesterday's B. League match between Khulna Abahani and Brothers Union at the Khulna Stadium.Photo: STAR

A late flurry of goals ensured Brothers Union's first victory in the Citycell B. League when they crushed opening round's surprise leaders Khulna Abahani 3-1 yesterday.
Brothers, who stumbled to a 1-1 draw against Chittagong Moha-mnmedan at home last week, were facing a confident local side at the Khulna Stadium but went ahead only after 17 minutes from a penalty.
Nigerian defender Divine slotted the spotkick to give the Dhaka giants a 1-0 first half lead while Tapu and substitute Manju added o the total in the last 17 minutes to take their collection to four points, level with Mohammedan, Chittagong Abahani and Sheikh Russel. Khulna Abahani stuck to three points with one win and a loss.
For the hosts, who upset last year's third Muktijoddha 3-1 in the first round in Dhaka, Mehdi Hasan Pashbon scored his third league goal to reduce the arrears.
The Oranges, who fielded two foreigners in the starting line-up and made three changes from the previous match brining in ace defender Masud Rana, midfielder Zahid and striker Tapu, took early control and the pressure told when right-sided midfielder Arup was brought down by Khulna defender Nasir inside the area.
Divine coolly kept his 12-yarder on target but Brothers, despite enjoying superior ball possession, failed to increase the margin till the 73rd minute when Tapu nodded in a right-side centre by Zahid.
Tapu, however, left the ground with burning skin when the striker was wounded following a slide on the goalline as the quicklime (Calcium Oxide) -- used to mark the line -- came in contact with his groin.
The Brothers backline went casual after the two-goal cushion but it served them a warning as Mehdi Hasan, who fired twice against Muktijoddha in the first round, ran through the whole defence to score an excellent solo goal in the 74th minute. The 19-year-old Mehdi now tops the scorers' list ahead of two-goal Touati Youness and Alfaz Ahmed of Sheikh Russel.
The home side made a late effort to equalise but Brothers survived the pressure to seal the victory for Wasim Iqbal's side in the 89th minute when Manju, who replaced Nigerian forward Michael Oniya, drilled a low angled drive into the far corner from the corner of the penalty box.
"It was a very difficult match for us because we had a long journey from Dhaka and had to play on we ground," said manager Amer Khan, who was on way back to the capital with his players in the evening.
"We have to return tonight because we have a match on Thursday. Also, two of our players were injured after coming in contact with quicklime on the lines. Ariful's condition is not that bad but Tapu has suffered serious injury," said Amer.
The match was played in heavy showers and even the players sitting the in bench were not spared, complained the former Oranges footballer, who was however satisfied with the team's performance.
"We dominated from the start and the early goal helped. It was not the case when we drew with Chittagong Mohammedan. After going two-up, the players looked a bit relaxed and conceded a goal due to defence lapse. We hope to look after these small mistakes in the future," he added.