Abahani face Kings’ hurdle in semi
Crowd-pullers Abahani will desperately be hoping to overcome the hurdle of new powerhouse Bashundhara Kings when the 11-time champions square off against the defending champions in the second semifinal of the Walton Federation Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.
The Sky Blues was able to overcome Bashundhara in the ill-tempered final of the season's curtain-raising Federation Cup during Bashundhara's debut season in 2018, but had gone on to lose two league matches and the quarterfinal of the season-closing Independence Cup in December 2018.
Even before Bashundhara Kings emergence, Abahani has had a bitter experience in the professional era since 2008 whenever the Dhanmondi outfit was faced with big-spending newcomers. In 2010, debutants Sheikh Jamal did lose 3-5 to Abahani in the Federation Cup final but then turned into the bogey team for the Sky Blues, eliminating them from the Fed Cup semifinal or quarterfinal stages from 2011 to 2014.
With three-time Fed Cup champions Sheikh Jamal reducing their spending, Abahani again stood tall to win three consecutive tournaments from 2016 to 2018, but this time around, the Sky Blues are again set to face a huge challenge from the new powerhouse Bashundhara Kings, who have reached this season's semifinal on the back of some solid performances, scoring six goals and conceding none.
The Kings may have the slight edge in terms of preparation time and also having many national players, but Abahani have seven national players and cannot be called a weaker side as they beat Mohammedan and Muktijoddha Sangad convincingly before toiling hard against Uttar Baridhara Club in their 1-0 quarterfinal win.
Their history has virtually turned the match into a final before the final, which the winners will play against Saif SC.
"Perhaps they are ahead of us in terms of preparation, a strong reserve bench and on-song foreigners but the performance on the ground will determine everything," Abahani's Portuguese coach Mario Lemos told reporters.
Kings' Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon said, "We know we have a tough opponent in the semifinal, whose playing style is radically different from ours but we will try to impose our game and qualify for the final."
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