Abahani scrape past Police

Defending champions Abahani were fortunate to begin their Federation Cup campaign on a positive note as an own goal from a Police FC defender was enough to decide their tie at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Flight Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj yesterday.

Police FC defender Manjurur Rahman Manik saw his attempt to clear an aerial ball end in the back of their own net five minutes from half-time, an error that proved too costly for Police FC.

Abahani made three changes to the squad that registered a hard-fought 3-2 win over Muktijoddha Sangsad in their last premier league match but the Dhanmondi-based outfit still struggled to penetrate the backline of Police FC, who fielded a completely different eleven in the game after their 0-1 loss to Sheikh Jamal DC in their last league match on Friday.

It was the 12-time champions Abahani who created the first chance of the game when Nabib Newaj Jibon's glancing header narrowly missed.

Police came close to levelling the margin when a shot from Colombian midfielder Mateo Palacios, their only foreign recruit in the eleven, was parried by Abahani goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel as it fell to Police skipper Kamal Barua, who floated it wide from the six-yard box in the 11th minute.

Abahani scored the winner in the 40th minute.