Mohammedan go joint-top

Mohammedan Sporting Club moved to the top of the Bangladesh Premier League alongside Sheikh Jamal DC with a 4-1 thrashing of Uttar Baridhara Club at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The Black and Whites came into the match on the back of a morale-boosting 1-0 win against defending champions Bashundhara Kings following a 4-0 mauling by Abahani. The victory against the champions apparently came as a shot in the arm for Sean Lane's charges, who took a first-half lead and then scored three more goals in the second half after conceding the equaliser.

The Motijheel-based outfit took the lead in the 31st minute when Habibur Rahman Shohag's free-kick was inadvertently turned in by Baridhara defender Sumon Reza.

The promoted club took advantage of Mohammedan's lacklustre defending, with an unmarked Maruf Ahmed bundling home Noyon Mia's corner to equalise eight minutes after restart.

However, Mohammedan restored their lead in the 71st minute, substitute Amir Hakim Bappy heading in Soleymane Diabate's cross before Diabate made it 3-1 five minutes later with a superb curling effort from inside the box.

As the win became inevitable, Obi Moneke rubbed salt into Baridhara's wounds with a solo effort from a counterattack in the stoppage time, dancing his way past a defender and the goalkeeper before finishing the job.

The win, Mohammedan's second in two matches and fourth overall, lifted them to 12 points from six matches. Sheikh Jamal, too, have 12 matches but the Dhanmondi-based outfit have played five matches. Baridhara, on the other hand, slipped to the bottom of the table with a single point from five matches.