Mohammedan return to winning ways

Title contenders Mohammedan returned to winning ways in the Bangladesh Premier League with a 3-1 win against Dhaka Wanderers Club at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium in Cumilla yesterday.

After suffering a 1-0 defeat to Fakirerpool Young Men's Club in their last match of the first phase nearly a month ago, the emphatic win over the minnows comes as a relief for the Black and Whites before their next match against Bashundhara Kings, which will come on April 12 as the league will be suspended for nearly seven weeks owing to the national team's engagement in Asian Cup Qualifiers.

The ninth victory in 10 matches steered Mohammedan to 27 points, seven ahead of Abahani and 10 clear of Bashundhara Kings, both of whom have matches today.

Uzbek midfielder Muzaffar Muzaffarov broke the deadlock in the 38th minute before Rahim Uddin doubled the lead in 81st minute while Souleymane Diabate sealed the victory a minute before the final whistle against an opponent Mohammedan had beaten 6-0 in the league's first meeting.

Fortis FC's Pa Omar celebrates one of his two goals against Rahmatganj. Photo: BFF

At the Rofique Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh, Bangladesh Police took revenge against visitors Brothers Union with a 1-0 win, with Brazilian recruit Danilo Augusto scoring the all-important goal in the fourth minute. Brothers had beaten Police 2-1 in their first meeting.

At the Bashundhara Kings Arena, hosts Fortis FC also exacted revenge for their 3-1 first-leg defeat with an identical margin of victory against Rahmatganj, who have now lost four matches on the trot after some stunning results earlier in the league.

Valerii Hryshyn gave a 38th-minute lead to Fortis before Pa Omar struck a brace in the second half to ensure the victory against the Old Dhaka outfit, who saw Samuel Boateng reimbursed a goal in the second half.