Kings off to flying start

Six-time champions Abahani started their Bangladesh Premier League campaign on the wrong foot for the seventh time as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Rahmatganj MFS in their opening fixture at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj today.

Brazilian midfielder Jonathan Fernandes gave Abahani a 21st-minute lead before Ghanaian forward Ernest Boateng's header in the 67th minute forced Abahani to share the spoils.

This was the seventh occasion that Abahani started their league campaign with either a draw or a defeat since the start of the professional league in 2007. Rahmatganj have been responsible for three of those occasions, having beaten the Sky Blues 2-1 on the opening day of the second edition in 2008 and holding them to a 2-2 draw in the eighth edition in 2014-15.

The four other occasions when Abahani either lost or drew an opening match were against Muktijoddha Sangsad in 2007, Sheikh Jamal DC in 2010, Chittagong Abahani in 2015-16 and Fortis FC in 2022-23.

Defending champions Bashundhara Kings, meanwhile, began their title defence with an empathic 5-2 win over promoted Brothers Union at the Bashundhara Kings Arena.

Four-time champions Bashundhara Kings, who won the Independence Cup title four days ago, made light work of Brothers, thanks to a brace from Dorielton Gomes and one goal apiece from Rakib Hossain, Robson Robinho and Mohammad Ibrahim.

Star-studded Kings, who had made only one faulty by losing against Swadhinata KS 2-1 in the 2021-22 season, did not make mistake like Abahani as they opened the scoring in the eighth minute with Rakib running down the left before driving powerful shot into the back of the net.

Then Dorielton scored in the 58th and 61st minutes to take the match away from Brothers, who reduced the margin with a 69th-minute strike from debutant Rabby Hossain Rahul. However, captain Robson widened the margin for Kings with a close-range shot in 89th minute. Two minutes into the stoppage time, Otabek Valijonov reduced the margin from the rebound for Brothers. Mohammad Ibrahim, however, ensured Kings ended the game with a three-goal cushion with a sliding finish on a pass from Mojibor Rahman Jony in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

In Rajshahi, independence Cup runners-up Mohammedan began their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Fortis FC, thanks to a last-gasp back-header from Nigerian defender Emmanuel Tony after Fortis' Gambian forward Moar Sarr had cancelled out Shahriar Emon's 14th-minute goal in the 43rd minute.

In Munshiganj, Bangladesh Police handed a 2-0 defeat to Chittagong Abahani, with Colombian forward Edis Horacio scoring the goals in the 22nd and 43rd minutes.