7 in 7: Kings continue marauding run

Bashundhara Kings raised their winning streak to seven matches in the Bangladesh Premier League as they breezed to a 3-1 win over Sheikh Russel at the Bashundhara Kings Arena, while newcomers Fortis FC played out a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh Police at the Shaheed Smriti Stadium in Rajshahi on Saturday.

The results mean that while Kings consolidated their lead at the top of the table with 21 points -- six more than second-placed Abahani -- Police FC and Fortis FC raised their tally to nine and seven points after playing seven and six matches, respectively.

Although Kings had faced a stiff challenge from Sheikh Russel in the Independence Cup final -- which saw regulation time end 2-2 before the dominant force in the country's domestic football won the penalty shootout 4-2 -- the three-time champions handed an easy defeat to Sheikh Russel this time around.

However, Kings were held to a stalemate for 65 minutes today before Robson De Silva, their star Brazilian forward, broke the deadlock from the spot after defender Monir Hossain brought Robson down inside the box. Uzbek midfielder Asror Gafurov then doubled the margin in the 73rd minute after capitalising on a misplaced pass from Sheikh Russel defender Timur Talipov.

Sheikh Russel suddenly induced excitement in the game with an 82nd-minute strike from Nigerian Sunday Udoh, who became the league's top-scorer with his seven goals. However, Robson wrapped up the match with a stoppage-time strike from a free kick.