Foreigners continue scoring spree
Foreign players continued their hold of the scoring chart as two foreign recruits scored two goals in the two games of the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday.
Five foreign players had scored five goals on the opening day of the 12th edition of the top-tier professional league on Thursday, and yesterday Rwanda's Emery Bayisenge and Nigeria's Ugochukwu Obi Moneke added to that tally as Saif and Mohammedan notched 1-0 victories in their respective matches.
Saif had to battle hard to get the better of Federation Cup finalists Rahmatganj in their opening fixture at the Rafique Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh.
Saif, who finished fourth in the league last season and were knocked out of the Federation Cup from the semifinal stage, had their centre-back Emery Bayisenge to thank for as the Rwandan centre-back curled in a free-kick to undo the plucky Rahmatganj side in the 63rd minute of the game.
It was the first match in charge for former Abahani coach Drago Mamic, who took the helm at Saif with former Chattogram Abahani coach Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu as his deputy.
Meanwhile, Sean lane's Mohammedan beat trouble-hit Arambagh 1-0 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, with Obi Moneke's 30th-minute strike separating the two sides.
The 28-year-old Nigerian collected the ball outside the box and skipped past Eleta Benjamoin before placing the ball at the far post.
The Black and Whites, who are experiencing a rejuvenation under Lane having reached the semifinals of the Federation Cup, had chances to increase the lead in the second half. Souleymane Diabate failed to beat Arambagh goalkeeper from a one-on-one situation two minutes after the break.
Arambagh, too, had their chances to equalise. Egyptian forward Mostafa Mahmood was set up for an easy finish by Eleta Kingsley five minutes into the second half, but Mahmood blasted the ball over the bar.
There were chances for local players to break the foreigners' scoring dominance, but former national team forward Yousuf Sifat saw his chip evade the Arambagh goal by a few inches while another former national team player, Abdul Baten Komol, failed to get the better of Mohammedan goalkeeper Mohammad Sujon in the 80th minute by wasting too much time on the ball.
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