Abahani suffer 1-3 defeat

Abahani surrendered an early lead to suffer a 1-3 defeat to Mohun Bagan AC in their second match of the AFC Cup at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata yesterday.

The second consecutive defeat means the Bangladesh Premier League champions sit at the bottom of Group E with zero points while Bengaluru FC top with six points after a 1-0 win over Maziya Sports & Recreation Club. Maziya and Mohun Bagan have three points each.

It was the first meeting between the cross-border outfits in 28 years, which despite a spirited show from the Sky Blues, ended in a frustrating defeat for them.

Croatian coach Drago Mamic brought three changes to the starting eleven that suffered a 0-2 against Maziya in their opening match. The coach opted for a 5-3-2 formation, keeping Emeka Darlington and Nabib Newaj Jibon upfront.

The Dhanmondi giants started the match brightly and won five corners within the first quarter of an hour, but failed to take advantage of those.

Mohun Bagan soon started finding their feet, but it was Abahani who broke the deadlock in the 21st minute. Jibon darted in from the right to cut the ball back for Welsh midfielder Jonathan David, who finished the move with a simple tap-in.

Mohun Bagan stepped up a gear, with Haitian forward Sony Norde leading the line for the men in Green and Maroon.

The hosts found the equaliser one minute into the stoppage time of the first half with a nice build up as Balwant whipped in a cross for Norde, who fed it to Jeje Lalpekhlua. The India striker comfortably beat Abahani goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel with a left-footed shot.

Abahani conceded the lead three minutes after restart as Katsumi Yusa raced past the defenders to find unmarked Balwant, who scored from an acute angle. 

Abahani tried to play positive football and created a couple of chances but midfielder Sohel Rana saw his close-range shot hit the side-netting while a nice cutback from Jonathan failed to find any of his teammates on the hour-mark.

Goalkeeper Sohel then denied Katsumi but could not stop Norde, who was provided with a nice ball inside the box and the former Sheikh Jamal DC striker nutmegged two defenders to beat Sohel from just outside the six-yard box three minutes from time.

Abahani will play their third match away to Bengaluru FC on April 18.