Relegation battle heats up
The relegation battle of Bangladesh Premier League is getting intense as struggling giants Brothers Union and Mohammedan SC secured some valuable points in their respective 17th matches at separative venues yesterday.
Brothers stunned Sheikh Jamal 5-2 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium while Mohammedan came from behind to hold third-placed Saif SC to a 1-1 draw at the Rafique Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh.
Despite their third win in 17 outings, Brothers are still in danger zone with 13 points alongside newcomers NoFeL SC, five points ahead of bottom-placed Team BJMC. Mohammedan, on the other hand, remained in 10th position with 14 points.
With two teams to be demoted from the 13, the bottom five teams – Team BJMC, Brothers, NoFeL SC, Mohammedan and Rahmatganj MFS – are in intense contest in relegation zone as they breathe on the shoulders of each other.
At BNS, Brothers took a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes through goals from Ariful Islam and James Moga before Sheikh Jamal hit back to level the margin thanks to a goal each from Gambian duo -- Emil Sambou and Ebou Kanteh – in the 27th and 38th minutes.
However, Ariful restored the lead in the 39th minute before Moga made it 4-2 in the 62nd minute and Mannaf Rabbi completed the rout in the 77th minute.
In Mymensingh, Uzbek striker Otabek Zokirov gave Saif SC the lead in the 33rd minute which was cancelled by substitute Kawsar Ali Rabbi seven minutes from time.
In the third match of the day, Chittagong Abahani handed a 3-0 defeat to Sheikh Russel, the second successive defeat for the former champions. The fifth win in 18 matches pushed the port city side to fifth position with 22 points while Sheikh Russel slipped to fourth position with 36 points from 17 matches. Sohel Mia struck a brace in the second half after Gambian Mamadou Bah gave Chittagong Abahani a first-half lead.
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