Brothers Union finally tasted their maiden victory in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with an exciting 3-2 win over three-time champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj today.
Securing the full three points from the match was good news for Brothers Union as the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) today decided to relegate only the bottom team instead of bottom two teams from the ongoing BPL.
The Gopibagh-based outfit raised their tally to six points from 14 matches, four less than ninth-placed Rahmatganj Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society, who were also in the danger zone before the BFF’s decision to relegate only one team to the Bangladesh Championship League.
In the match, Brothers Union were under tremendous pressure from the outset but they surprised their mighty opponents in the stoppage time of the first half.
Eleta Kingsley broke the deadlock from a counter-attack with a shot from inside the box after Rabby Hossain Rahul ran down the left to provide a nice through pass for Kingsley.
Sheikh Jamal, however, bounced back strongly to strike two goals within a span of only two minutes with Higor Rodrigues levelling the margin in the 72nd minute from the spot while Shakhazod Shaymanov giving Sheikh Jamal the lead with a header in the 74th minute.
In the dying minutes, Brothers hit back as substitute Mohsin Ahmed equalised the margin with a low drive in the 83rd minute while national team player Rahul sealed off the victory in the 89th minute with a brilliant solo effort.
At Birshreshtha Shaheed Flight Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj, Mohammedan Sporting Club again stumbled, playing out a 1-1 draw against Chittagong Abahani.
Mohammedan, who came into the match on the back of a frustrating goalless draw against Bangladesh Police FC, continued to struggle to tame the port-city outfits despite taking a lead in the 27th minute through Arif Hossain’s goal before Nigeria’s David Ifegwu levelled the margin in the 34th minute.
Neither teams could find the net of their opponents for the rest of the match and had to be content with a draw.
This draw widened the gap between leaders Bashundhara Kings and second-placed Mohammedan, with the Kings being six points clear with a match in hand.
