Bruno Rocha drives Abahani

A second-half strike from Brazilian forward Bruno Rocha helped Abahani notch up a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sheikh Russel in their Bangladesh Premier League encounter at the Bashundhara Kings Arena today.

The seventh win also helped Abahani close the gap with second-placed Mohammedan to one point as the Sky Blues have with 25 points from 13 matches. League leaders Bashundhara Kings have 31 points while Sheikh Russel stay just a place ahead of the red zone with 11 points from 13 matches.

After a barren first, the ball was mostly confined in the midfield as both sides struggled to control the game before Sheikh Russel found a brilliant opportunity to take the lead but Guinean forward Sekou Sylla, despite beating the last defender, struck the ball straight to goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel in the 51st minute.

Abahani broke the deadlock with Bruno striking the decisive goal in the 74th minute with his second effort after his diving header came off the crossbar. The single goal was good enough to see off Sheikh Russel, who had suffered a 3-1 defeat to Abahani in their away match.

In the day's other match, Fortis FC recorded their fourth victory with a 2-1 win over Rahmatganj MFS, with Rashedul Islam and Pa Omar netting in the 26th and 37th minutes respectively. Samuel Konney reduced the margin from the spot in the 50th minute for Rahmatganj, who are still in red zone with 10 points from 13 matches while Fortis are in fifth position with 16 points from 13 matches.