Last-gasp Sabuz takes Kings to final
A 118th-minute strike from substitute Towhidul Alam Sabuz powered Bashundhara Kings into the final of the Walton Federation Cup with a 1-0 over Sheikh Russel KC in the second semifinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Local striker Sabuz, who came on the pitch in place of midfielder Emon Babu, scored the all-important goal by tapping in a rebound after star midfielder Daniel Colindres saw his powerful drive from 25 yards come off the post, with Sheikh Russel goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana beaten.
The goal late into second half of extra time helped newcomers Bashundhara Kings write their names beside Sheikh Jamal DC and Team BJMC, who also qualified for the Federation Cup final on their respective debut seasons after the professional football league was introduced in 2008. Big-spending Bashundhara Kings will play the final against 10-time champions Abahani on Friday.
Sheikh Russel KC, on the other hand, failed to make it to the final for the fifth straight season since their lone Federation Cup triumph in 2012.
Sheikh Russel were actually helpless throughout the match against the depleted Bashundhara Kings, who took the field without their two most important overseas players but they never looked short of inspiration.
Sheikh Russel KC came into the match without conceding a single goal while Bashundhara Kings boasted to 12 goals against five conceded. In a sense, this was a clash between Kings' forwards and Sheikh Russel's defenders.
The Kings, who enjoyed lion's share of possession and created more chances than their opponents right from the word go. Coach Oscar Bruzon sent forward Matin Mia reducing his four-man defence to three just after 35 minutes while sending Sabuz in pace of Emon after 70 minutes. The forwards, though, could not break Sheikh Russel's defence marshalled by Alison Udoka, Yeasin Khan, Yeamin Munna and Bishwanath Ghosh before Sabuz made the difference.
Sheikh Russel, who beat Abahani 1-0 in the group stages, were mostly busy thwarting Bashundhara Kings' attacks rather than putting any pressure on the opponents. The former champions could only muster three shots on target but those hardly troubled Bashundhara Kings goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico.
“I'm happy to have scored the match winner but I was not sure about playing this match even yesterday [Tuesday],” Sabuz said after the match. “As I did not practise for the last two days due to a thigh injury, the coach asked me yesterday whether I could play the semifinal. I told him that I would take the field only if the team is on the backfoot.”
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