Abahani hand Sk Jamal season’s first defeat

Dhaka Abahani closed the gap with runaway league leaders Bashundhara Kings as they made Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club suffer their first defeat of the Bangladesh Premier League's ongoing season in Gopalganj on Saturday.  

The 2-1 win takes still-undefeated Abahani to 18 points after eight games, six behind Kings, while Sheikh Jamal dropped close to mid-table, with 12 points in seven outings.

Elsewhere yesterday, at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka, Sheikh Russel KC edged past bottom dwellers AFC Uttara 1-0 and moved into fifth spot of the 11-team table, courtesy of a spot-kick conversion by Didier Brossou, while two goals by Almazbek Malikov and Mateo Palacios on either side of interval against Rahmatganj MFS in Mymensingh took Bangladesh Police level on points with Sheikh Jamal.   

AFC Uttara goalkeeper about to grab the ball during his match between Sheikh Russell KC and AFC Uttara at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka on February 4, 2023. Photo: BFF

At the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium, the game was one-sided from the onset as Abahani created a flurry of chances, resulting in the first goal in the 10th minute when Yousef Mohammad had the ball near the far-right touchline. The Syrian midfielder easily left his marker on the ground with a feigned shot before he whipped a left-footed cross which Peter Nworah met with a glancing header while his marker appeared caught napping.

Abahani maintained their stranglehold on their opposition and widened the margin in the 34th minute. Nworah was in the act again, but this time he assisted the Costa Rican star Daniel Colindres.

Abahani, donning their away yellow kits, could have scored a few more in the first half. Raphael Augusto, who pulled the strings in the centre of midfield throughout the game, missed a tap in after Colindres spoon-fed the Brazilian a square pass following a darting run from the left.  

The second half saw Sheikh Jamal start to express themselves as the game became more end-to-end. Otabek Valizhonov created a chance all by himself at the stroke of the hour, as he dribbled past a few players inside the box, only to aim the shot straight at the goal-keeper, Shahidul Alam.

In the 69th minute, Sheikh Jamal got rewarded for their proactive football post-interval as their No.9 Cornelius Stewart converted a penalty, earned by Sohanur Rahman Sohan. The game entered a nervy phase but Abahani defended deeper. Ultimately, neither side were composed enough to strike further.