Abahani stay three clear of Kings

Despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Rahmatganj MFS, Abahani remained three points clear of third-placed Bashundhara Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League as they, too, were held to a 1-1 draw by Fortis FC later in the day.

Playing at the Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla on Saturday, the six-time champions took the lead through Emeka Ogbugh in the 64th minute, but Rahmatganj, who moved to fifth spot with 27 points after this match, hit back 10 minutes later. It was the league's top-scorer Samuel Boateng, with his 16th goal of the campaign, who brought parity in the fixture.

The draw moved Abahani to 32 points from 17 fixtures, with only a round of matches remaining.

Five-time champions Kings had the opportunity to cut the gap with Abahani but they eventually could come out with only a draw as Fortis FC had the better chances at the Kings Arena. The draw took Kings to 29 points, three adrift of Abahani.

Following a goalless first half, substitute Mohammad Abdullah broke the deadlock in the 67th minute of the match, smashing a powerful volley after Pa Omar Babou's harmless free-kick blocked off the crossbar and then Tariq Kazi's attempted clearance ricocheted off Deciel Dos Santos and came behind the wall, where Abdullah was ready to pounce. It was the former Mohammedan forward's third goal in three meetings against Kings this season.

Another second-half substitute, Sheikh Morsalin, brought Bashundhara Kings back in the match in the 80th minute with a sliding effort past the Fortis FC goalkeeper after being threaded through by Sohel Rana.

Abdullah could not score from the goalmouth melee as Bashundhara scrambled clear from in front of goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time before Babou's curling freekick came off the crossbar as Bashundhara managed a draw.

In the other match of the day, Bangladesh Police beat bottom-placed Chittagong Abahani 2-1.