Mohammedan extend unbeaten run to six
Falling giants Mohammedan extended their unbeaten run in the Bangladesh Premier League to six matches as they handed a 2-0 defeat to visiting Muktijoddha Sangsad at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium in Cumilla yesterday.
Malian striker Souleymane Diabate and Burkina Faso defender Mounziridiati Coulidiati struck a goal each to deliver a fifth victory for Mohammedan, who have been unbeaten since a 0-4 drubbing against Bashundhara Kings in Cumilla.
English coach Sean Lane's charges dominated Muktijoddha Sangsad from the onset and created some good chances before Diabate broke the deadlock in the 35th minute with a free-kick that embraced the back of the net after slipping past the gloves of Muktijoddha goalkeeper Mahfuz Hasan.
Mohammedan's dominance did not waver after the change of sides although they fielded only two foreign players and their opposition could not cope up with the pace. They doubled their lead in the 61st minute when Mounzir headed a Habibur Rahman Shohag corner home.
A fifth triumph in 11 games also helped the Motijheel-based outfit jump to fourth position in the 13-team table with 19 points, 15 behind than leaders Kings and four points short of archrivals Abahani.
Mutkijoddha Sangsad, on the other hand, are a place above the red zone with six defeats from 11 matches and nine points to their name.
At the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, Sheikh Jamal again stumbled when they surrendered a lead within two minutes and played out a 1-1 draw against Rahmatganj.
Sheikh Jamal, boosted by the presence of three Gambian and one Uzbek player, pressed from the onset and almost took a lead in the sixth minute but Rahmatganj keeper Rasel Mahmud Liton cleared a suicidal goal-bound header from defender Mohammad Tarek. Although the ball appeared to have crossed the line, assistant referee Robin Khan was away from the corner flag and did not signal for a goal.
After the barren first half, Uzbek midfielder Jonov Otabek gave Sheikh Jamal the lead in the 49th minute by scoring directly from a corner, probably inspired by Brothers Union's winger Faisal Mahmud, who struck two goals directly from corners against Arambagh on Monday.
However, the lead lasted only two minutes as Crist Remi, availing a long ball from Shahedul Alam, nicely controlled the ball inside the box before sending it over advancing goalkeeper Ziaur Rahman to level the margin.
Gambian striker Omar Jobe rattled the post in the 71st minute as Sheikh Jamal were deprived a seventh victory. A fifth draw in 11 games left them in second place with 23 points from 11 matches, one ahead of third-placed Abahani. Meanwhile, Rahmatganj climbed to ninth position with nine points.
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