Saddam's amazing feat

Feni Soccer Club captain Saddam Hossain perhaps created a piece of history when he scored two goals straight from corner kick in their Bangladesh Championship League match against Fakirerpool Youngmen's Club at the Birshreshtha Shaheeed Mostafa Kamal Stadium yesterday.

The young forward curled home from the flag in the 24th minute with opposition goalkeeper Mithun Khalifa, seemingly under no pressure under the bar, helping the ball on its way into the net.

These types of efforts can be seen in international football often, but barely in professional leagues in Bangladesh. However, what was to follow 23 minutes later is probably very rare or even unique in world football. The same player, Saddam, took another corner kick from the same end, and this time it was an even more difficult shot to keep out. The ball curled in at the near post, with the Fakirerpool goalkeeper caught off guard and seeing the ball sneak into the net.

The 28-year-old forward, who has been plying his trade in the top two tiers of the professional football league for the last eight years, said he felt a bit lucky with the first goal but exploited the opposition keeper's hesitation to score the second.

“I'm feeling good about scoring two goals from corner kick,” Saddam told The Daily Star over phone last night.

“I think I was a bit lucky with the first goal as the goalkeeper failed to gather the ball. I noticed his hesitation and nervousness. So I tried to exploit that by squeezing the ball past the near post and I was successful. It was bit difficult for the keeper,” said the former Rahmatganj MFS forward, adding that he does not do any extra practice in taking corners.