FootballCitycell B League
CU Correspondent, Chittagong
Muktijoddha goalkeeper Nizam Majumder (R) makes a diving save during their B. League match against Chittagong Abahani at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong yesterday. Photo:
Chittagong Abahani extended Muktijoddha's woes in the Citycell B. League when the hosts defea-ted the Dhaka heavyweights 1-0 in yesterday's match here at the MA Aziz Stadium.Sakhawat Hossain Rony's 77th minute strike ensured the second successive loss for struggling giants Muktijoddha, who had won 4-0 at home and drew 1-1 away against the same opposition last year.
The Reds got off to a poor start in this year's competition after going 3-1 down to Khulna Abahani at home in the first week.The Chittagong Sky-Blues, who held mighty Dhaka Mohammedan to a 1-1 draw in the opening round, reached top of the table with four points.
Youngster Mithun Chowdhury, who took centrestage in their match against Mohammedan, once again appeared as the key playmaker for the winners, setting Rony after dodging past rival defenders inside the Muktijoddha penalty area. Rony made no mistake to cleverly send the ball home.
The home side dominated throughout the first half and got some openings to go ahead but Nizam Majumder was in fine form under the Reds bar.In the 10th minute, Mithun took a shot outside from the area but Nizam palmed away the effort for a corner.Ismail then beat Nizam in the 25th minute from 35 yards but the ball came off the post. In a rare first half attack, Sentu provided Milon a great opportunity in the 42nd minute but the unmarked Muktijoddha striker's weak shot gave no trouble to Abahani's Nepalese custodian Kiran.
The second half, however, belonged to the visitors, who had certain plans. But Asgar Ali Nasir's boys failed to materialise the superior ball possession into goals.
Nepalese striker Santosh came close with a pass from Jahangir but he shot the 58th minute chance over Nizam's crosspiece.Two minutes later, Kanchan picked up Murad but his feeble effort was comfortably gripped by Kiran.Abahani coach Mohammad Kashem expressed his satisfaction and said his boys played well."Our target is to finish among the top eight this year as we are now much stronger than the previous season," Kashem said."Mithun and Nepalese defender Lok Bandhu played superb today but Santosh could not perform up to our expectation," he observed.
Muktijoddha manager Abdus Sattar admitted the miserable condition of their team and said financial crisis is responsible for the last year's third-placed side's dismal show."At least five of our players are nursing injuries and we cannot recruit players from the abroad due to financial problems," Sattar said."We are weaker than the previous league and we are just going through the motion this year," he added.
TEAMS
Chittagong Abahani: Kiran, Monir (Jahangir), Nazir, Mamun, Lok Bandhu, Mintu, Ismail (Rashedul), Sakhawat, Santosh and Mithun.
Muktijoddha: Nizam, Rajib, Bipul, Biplab, Bappi (Murad), Biddyut, Tajul, Sentu (Asif and Asharful), Kanchan, Milon and Amin Rana. Referee: Shahidul Islam Lalu.