King takes Sheikh Jamal to top

Ten-man Sheikh Jamal DC joined leaders Chittagong Abahani on top of the Bangladesh Premier League after notching a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Brothers Union at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Mohammad Biplob put Brothers Union ahead with a header in the 20th minute before Gambian forward Solomon King nodded home twice in the 54th and 68th minutes to push Sheikh Jamal to the top of the 12-team table alongside Chittagong Abahani on 19 points from seven matches.

After the second goal, Sheikh Jamal were reduced to 10 men as Enamul Haque received marching orders for a second bookable offense, leaving the control of the match to Brothers. The Oranges were, however, denied of legitimate penalty by referee Jalal Uddin after Mithu Biswas was brought down inside the penalty area.

Earlier in the day, Rahmatganj MFS and Farashganj SC shared honours in the 'Old Dhaka derby' by playing out a 1-1 draw in a lively encounter.

Mohammad Shamim gave Farashganj a first-half lead before substitute Mohammad Elias levelled the margin for Rahmatganj MFS in the second half of an entertaining encounter in front of some hundred spectators as the league resumed after the Eid-ul-Adha break.

Rahmatganj came into the match on the back of a creditable 0-0 draw against holders Abahani and they were supposed to dominate the game over Farashganj, who had suffered four straight defeats in the run-up to this game. However, it turned out to be a fiercely fought contest between the two Old Dhaka outfits.

Farashganj looked good on the pitch from the outset with their positive attitude, pressing on their old rivals, with Nigerian Chinedu Mathew forcing Rahmatganj goalkeeper Omar Faruk to a decent save from a close-range header in the 19th minute. However, two minutes later the goalkeeper failed to stop a dipping shot from Shamim, who let loose from the edge of the box after being set up by Mathew, who snatched the ball from a Rahmatganj midfielder on the centerline.

Rahmatganj stepped up the attack and were deprived of an equaliser when Faisal Ahmed saw his 25-yarder come off the inside of the crossbar in the 39th minute.

Rahmatganj found a fortunate equaliser in the 51st minute when substitute Elias tapped in from a scramble after Farashganj goalkeeper Ashim Das failed to grip an innocuous looking header from Ismail Bangoura.

With the score locked at 1-1, both teams tried to get the match winner and Farashganj were deprived of restoring the lead when Mathew saw his attempt come off the woodwork in the 86th minute.

Rahmatganj could have killed off the match in the stoppage time but Faisal Ahmed failed to connect to a low cross from the right flank from handshaking distance while from a counter-attack Omar Faruk foiled two efforts from Afzal Hossain and Tauhidur Zaman as the match ended 1-1.

With the first draw in seven matches, Farashganj stayed at the bottom with four points while Rahmatganj raised their tally to nine points from seven matches to stay at fifth position.