Abahani through, Police too
Abahani cruised into the quarterfinals of the TVS Federation Cup with a 5-1 win over Arambagh KS at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Sunday Chizoba gave the defending champions a ninth-minute lead before four goals from four local players in the second half ensured a big win for the holders, who topped Group A with six points from two matches.
Arambagh were eliminated with two defeats in two matches while Bangladesh Police, who have three points from two matches, went through as runners-up of the group.
The Sky Blues, who had beaten Police 4-0 in their opening game, gave starting eleven berths to four players for the first time and later made three substitutions, all of whom were playing their first game of the competition. Yet the Dhanmondi giants had little trouble dispatching crisis-hit Arambagh, with the reserve-bench players making a strong case by contributing to the victory.
Jewel Rana, one of those players, set up Sunday for a smashing finish for the opening goal in the ninth minute. Abahani failed to increase their lead in the first half, but a couple of tactical switches helped open the floodgates after the break.
Nabib Newaz Jibon doubled Abahani’s lead seven minutes after restart with a simple tap-in before veteran centre-back Nasiruddin Chowdhury made it 3-0 with a header five minutes later.
Abahani exploited the width of the pitch in the second half by involving the wingers more in their attacks and continued to reap the rewards, with former captain Mamunul Islam, who was one of the four players getting a rare first-eleven outing, picking the far corner of the net with a powerful left-footed shot in the 73rd minute.
Substitute Faisal Ahmed Shitol made it 5-0 with a glancing header six minutes later before Murad Chowdhury scored a consolation goal for Arambagh with a volley from inside the box in the 85th minute.
Abahani coach Mario Lemos was satisfied with the team’s performance including those who do not get a chance in the starting eleven.
“(Bangladesh) Police was a different team than Arambagh, who are struggling. But a win is always satisfying. We scored five goals and could have scored more,” the Portuguese said in his post-match reaction.
When asked about the performance of the reserve-bench players, Lemos said he would have difficulty choosing his eleven in the next match.
“The reserve bench was good. Now was the chance to look for options that we have this year. The quarterfinals will be much tougher but it’s also going to be difficult to choose the starting eleven after this performance,” said Lemos.