Holders lift local spirits

After the fans endured disappointing results from local outfits in the Sheikh Kamal Club Cup, defending champions Chittagong Abahani got off to a fine start in the tournament with a 3-1 win over Afghani side Shaheen Asmayee FC at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

With Dhaka Abahani and Mohammedan SC suffering frustrating defeats, it was up to hosts Chittagong Abahani's to lift local spirits and the holders did not disappoint the home crowd as their striking pair -- Haitian Augustin Walson and Nigerian Kingsley Chigozie -- provided cheerful moments by sharing three goals.

Chittagong Abahani raced to a sparkling start with Walson rattling the crossbar in the very second minute before coming close twice more in the opening twenty minutes of the game. However, the Nigerian had to wait until the 24th minute to break the deadlock, before he set up Kingsley to double the lead in the 40th minute from a counter attack.

After resumption, Shaheen Asmayee gave the hosts a run for their money as Said Nasir Hussain pulled a goal back in the 58th minute. The visitors then applied tremendous pressure to equalise but goalkeeper Ashraful Islam Rana made two brilliant saves to keep Abahani's lead intact.

Chittagong Abahani then stole the match away from Shaheed Asmayee as man-of-the-match Walson beat onrushing goalkeeper Hamidullah Wakili from inside the box in the 83rd minute after Kingsley managed to feed him the ball from the edge of the box while tumbling to the ground.

Earlier, in the day's first match, Mohammedan SC followed in the footsteps of archrivals Abahani as they fell to a South Asian club in their first match, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Nepal's Manang Marshyangdi Club at the same venue.

On the opening day on Saturday, Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani had fallen to a Maldivian outfit -- TC Sports Club -- after a performance that was below-par compared to their displays in the Premier League. However, the performance from Mohammedan was as expected.

They had finished 10th in the 20-team Premier League and a win over Manang Marshyangdi Club, which features eight national players, would have been a surprising result.

Mohammedan were on an even footing in the first half, but they faltered in the second. Towhidul Alam Sabuz squandered an opportunity in the 35th minute to frustrate Mohammedan, before Aminur Rahman Sajib rattled the post two minutes from the break.

After the barren first half, Manang Marshyangdi took the lead from a counter attack as Nigerian Afeez Olawale Oladipo, after being set up by Rahit Chand, raced past a Mohammedan defender and chipped the ball over advancing goalkeeper Mamun Khan eight minutes into the second half. Bishal Rai wrapped up the victory with an angled shot from inside the danger zone in the 87th minute.

“Actually I am disappointed with the way we conceded goals and lost the match. The result could have been different had we taken the chances we created. However, the Nepalese club were better than us,” said Mohammedan coach Abdul Kaiyum Sentu.

“It is always hard to play in Bangladesh and the match was not easy for us but we are happy to make a winning start,” said Manang Marshyangdi Club coach Chhiring Lopsang Gurung.