The lanky Moroccan striker broke thousands of Mohammedan hearts when he spectacularly headed home an 82nd minute equaliser after Kaiser gave the popular Black and Whites a 65th minute lead in the final match of the second leg.

The first big match drew a capacity crowd at the northern district. People of all ages and more interestingly a lot of female supporters thronged the 30,000 capacity stadium to join in the cheers.

But the game hardly fulfilled the exceptions until the final 25 minutes. It only came when Kaiser made a probing run inside the box to get hold of a right-side cross from Faisal Ahmed. The nimble attacker then dodged past one Russel defender before unleashing a left-foot grounder that crashed into the net taking a slight deflection off the left-hand post of Russel keeper Apel.

But it only brought a sense of urgency into the Russel boys' game to try and find a way back into the game. Their captain Asif suddenly looked dangerous down the flanks. The lively midfielder came tantalisingly close to scoring an equaliser in the 70th minute when he took a diving header but only to be denied by Mohammedan custodian Bijon Barua, who gripped the ball at the second attempt. Then Asif took a rasping shot after three minutes but this time the woodwork denied him.

Mohammedan defence finally cracked when Bulbul whipped in a nice cross from the left and an unchallenged Younnes made no mistake to score with a glancing header.

It was his fourth goal in the competition and also ensured that the fourth meeting between the two sides ended even after Mohamme-dan won the first game in the Federation Cup last year 4-1.

But the outcome served Russel's cause better as they are now leading Group B with seven points from three games. Mohammedan on the other hand, slipped to third position with four points from two games, two points behind Brothers Union, who have maximum six points.

Mohammedan coach Abul Hossain was disappointed with the result and blamed his defence for conceding a late goal.

"It was our plan to keep dangerman Younnes closely marked. But Faisal who was supposed to keep track of the Moroccan only lost his concentration for a split second and it proved fatal. Besides, the game also exposed that we need a couple of foreign players to do better in the next rounds," said the long-serving Mohammedan coach.

Abul's opposite number Wajed Gazi was however satisfied with the result and praised his boys for showing their fighting qualities after going a goal down.

"Younnes was not fully fit that's why my forward line didn't click as expected. But I am satisfied with the result and hope my boys will play better football as the tournament progresses," he said.

Russel will face another stern examination when the third leg starts in Khulna on August 6. They will play the opening match against Premier League champions Brothers Union.

Yellow cards: Bijon and Faisal Mahmud (Mohammedan), Younnes and Maruf (Sheikh Russel).

TEAMS
Mohammedan SC: Bijon, Jewel Rana, Faisal Ahmed, Zahir, Amin Rana (Sourav Raju), Kaiser, Pappu, Sentu, Faisal Mahmud, Farhad (Rony) and Manju (Nakib).

Sheikh Russel KC: Apel, Kamal, Narayan, Burdeep, Nurul Islam, Jalal (Maruf), Asif, Asad, Milon, Bulbul and Youness

Referee: Ram Krishna Gosh