Abahani held by lowly PWD

Reigning runners-up Abahani continued their inconsistent run in the Bangladesh Football League as the six-time champions were held to a 2-2 draw by newcomers PWD at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium in Cumilla on Friday.

Buoyed by a massive 5-0 victory over Fakirerpool Young Men's Club in their previous match, Abahani took the field hoping for another triumph but were stunned early by PWD. Bangladesh Championship League campaigner Minhazul Karim Shadin gave the newcomers a 10th-minute lead.

After the break, Abahani staged a strong comeback. Forward Al Amin restored parity eight minutes into the second half before Sheikh Morsalin put the Sky Blues ahead with a 74th-minute strike.

Just when Abahani appeared to be heading for back-to-back wins, Abu Sayed shattered their hopes by scoring a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time.

The draw — Abahani's third in seven matches — saw them slip to fourth place in the standings with nine points. PWD, with one win and four draws from seven matches, sit seventh with seven points.

Meanwhile, at the Shaheed Birshrestha Flight Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj, Rahmatganj returned to winning ways and reclaimed second place in the 10-team table with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Brothers Union.

The Gopibagh-based outfit appeared on course for their third league win after taking a 2-0 lead within 75 minutes through goals from Brazilian Marcos Silva and Ivory Coast's Charles Didier. However, Rahmatganj produced a remarkable late surge.

Gambian captain Solomon King struck twice in the final 10 minutes to cancel out Brothers' advantage before Ghanaian Clement Adu netted the decisive goal in the 90th minute to seal Rahmatganj's third win of the campaign.

Rahmatganj now have 13 points from seven matches, three behind leaders Bashundhara Kings, who have played one match fewer. Brothers Union, meanwhile, remain eighth with seven points after suffering their fourth defeat in seven matches.