Abahani set up final against Usha

Dhaka Mariner Youngs' dream of playing in the Club Cup final after 12 years was shattered when the Arambagh-based outfit suffered a nerve-wracking 3-2 defeat against Abahani in the second semifinal at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.

The departure of the rejuvenated side means Monday's final of the Marcel Cub Cup will be a repeat of the last two editions where Abahani and Usha KC had locked horns, with the latter coming on top in both occasions.

When it seemed as if the match was heading for a penalty shootout like the first semifinal with two minutes left of regulation time, Abahani's three Pakistani recruits showed their skill to take the Sky Blues to the final for the eighth time in 11 editions.

Mariners' national discard Mamunur Rahman Chayan made a mistake by depositing the ball straight to Rummon Sarker, who raced into the attacking third to square it to Toushiq Arshad. Arshad then released it for his compatriot Mohammad Irfan inside the circle and the tall midfielder, instead of taking a hit, cut it back to compatriot Shafqat Rasul, who just tapped home into the open net for the winning goal in the penultimate minute.

The match was more enthralling compared to the first semifinal on the previous day as there was adequate show of skill, pace and planned attacks from both sides.

Abahani snatched the first penalty corner of the game in the third minute and made full use of it, with Shafqat, Rummon and Arshad combing to convert it to the Sky Blues the lead. The lead, though, lasted only eight minutes as Mariners' Malaysian recruit Zia converted a penalty corner in the 11th minute.

Mariners then took the lead in the 24th minute, with Chayan converting another penalty corner but the charges of Gerhard Peter Rach surrendered the lead in the 51st minute when Rummon found the back of the net with a reverse-hit after three penalty corners were wasted.

Then with minutes remaining of regulation time and both teams pressing hard for the winner, Abahani's Pakistani recruits took full toll of Chayan's miss pass to wrap up the game in stipulated time.