He came up with a double strike at the Bangabandhu National Stadium and Mohammedan, with a 2-0 sail over the Reds, are now a victory away from claiming the coveted title after five years.

Mohammedan will take on defending champions Brothers Union in the last league match on September 9. The clash has already been touted as the 'final' even before Brothers meet lowly Dipali Juba Sangha at the same venue today.

Motiur has hardly been noticed in the last 16 games, where he failed to score a single goal for the Black and Whites.

But the hero of Bangladesh's stunning victory against India in the 2003 SAFF Championship in Dhaka, celebrated another memorable night with a brace in the space of two minutes after the break.

He sent some 15,000 Mohamme-dan supporters into ecstasy in the 74th minute with a diving header off a low freekick taken by Alfaz from the right. He then stunned Muktijoddha and country's number custodian Aminul two minutes later with a sudden right-footer that crashed into the net amidst deafening roar from the stands.

Mohammedan, who won the first-leg battle against Muktijoddha by a solitary goal, now leads the ten-team table with 38 points from 17 games. The result evaporated Muktijoddha's outside chances of winning the title. It also poured cold water on Abahani's dream of staying afloat in the title race.

Abahani gave a last gasp twist in the race when they beat Mohamme-dan 1-0 last Friday while Muktijo-ddha had humbled Brothers 2-1. But Mohammedan's victory on Wednes-day night effectively closed the doors on both clubs.

Mohammedan, who had a forgettable second leg with three draws and a defeat in the last seven games, however played their best match yesterday. They were unlucky not to score in the first half after a brilliant shot by Asad came off the cross-bar in the tenth minute. Asad's another beefy attempt narrowly missed the target at the stroke of the breather. Alfaz also failed to connect a Ronny's cross from handshaking distance as Mohammedan dominated George Kottan's unimaginative charges.

The Motijheel outfit continued their impressive showing after the break on a slippery pitch although Asad had to limp off the ground with a hamstring injury.

"The way the boys played in the match is fantastic. But we are not over excited with t because we have to overcome a big hurdle on Friday. We are now confident of beating Brothers," said excited Mohamme-dan coach Kazi Jashimuddin Joshi.

Yellow card: Khokon (Mohammedan).
TEAMS
Mohammedan: Biplob, Nazrul, Hasan, Odaf, Ronny, Arman Aziz, Asad (Khokon), Faisal, Matiur Munna, Alfaz (Mintoo) and Donald (Nakib).
Muktijoddha: Aminul, Hasan Al Mamun, Rajani, Harry, Riyad (Al Arman), Titoo, Biddyut, Arman, Kanchan (Ronny), Paul and Jeremiah.
Referee: Hannan Miran.