Muktis pile misery on Arambagh

Muktijoddha Sangsad handed a 2-0 defeat to Arambagh KS in their Bangladesh Premier League encounter at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

After a barren first half, Amzad Ali broke the deadlock in the 60th minute with a header while Arambagh defender Arafat Hossain struck own net in 90th minute to ensure Muktijoddha's second victory in three matches. The Reds now have six points while Arambagh remain on the bottom of the 12-team table alongside Mohammedan SC following three straight defeats.

A youthful Arambagh side, who earned four points in the first three matches of last league, lost their strength due to the mass exodus of players during the pre-season transfers, and they have continued to struggle since the start of the league this time.

The charges of Maruful Haque, however, dominated the first half of yesterday's match and created a few chances but failed to reap any rewards.

Goalkeeper Uttam Barua denied Arambagh's Mohammad Jewel on the half-hour mark before Shahriar Bappy wasted two scoring chances in the last five minutes of the first half.

Muktijoddha regrouped in the second half and took control of the game before grabbing the lead on the hour-mark when Tanvir Rana whipped in a well-judged cross for Amzad, who headed from close range without facing any resistance from goalkeeper Akkas Sheikh.

Arambagh strengthened their attack by sending on former national striker Sohel Rana, who found a nice opportunity to level the margin in the 89th minute, but the tall striker blasted the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Muktijoddha's win was sealed in the 90th minute when Arambagh defender Arafat struck his own net while trying to clear a forward pass from opposition midfielder Motiur Rahman.

Meanwhile, a second-half header from defender Tapu Barman powered newcomers Saif Sporting Club to a single-goal win over Farashganj SC in the day's second match. The second successive win means Saif SC joined holders Abahani, Muktijoddha and Rahmatganj on six points each, three less than joint leaders Sheikh Jamal DC and Chittagong Abahani.

Fresh from a 1-0 win over Abahani, Farashganj came into the match with the hope of causing another upset, but their performance yesterday was hardly a match for their previous match's performance. The charges of Abu Yousuf, however, gave a run for the money to national-player-studded Saif SC before conceding the lone goal in the second half.

Though Saif SC could not expose Rahmantganj's defence in the first half, they were able to break it in the second half on a few occasions, cashing in one of those opportunities in the 55th minute. Defender Riyan ran down the right flank and whipped in a cross for Tapu, who saw his drop-header embrace the net.