Dhaka: Abahani Ltd. Dhaka have won their third consecutive Federation Cup title.
The Sky Blue Brigade beat new BPL powerhouse Bashundhara Kings 3-1 in the final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday evening.
This is Abahani’s 11th Federation Cup title in total.
However, it was not as easy for the Dhaka giants as the scoreline may suggest.
Kings’ Costa Rican recruit Daniel Colindres Solera drew first blood for his team in the 21st minute on the game and the first half ended with Abahani trailing Kings 1-0.
However, the situation changed after the first half. A brace from Nigerian marksman Sunday Chizoba and another from Haitian Kervens Belfort helped Abahani seal hattrick title of Federation Cup .
The Nigerian levelled the score in the 50th minute and then gave the Sky Blues the lead in the 79th minute with a clinical finish before Haitian Kervens Belfort ensured their 11th Federation Cup title by heading in a Wali Faisal corner in the 81st minute.
An unwelcomed brawl at during the added time resulted in 2 players from each team – Jibon and Mamun of Abahani and Shushanto and Sobuj of B. Kings – getting marching orders from the referee.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Abahani fans swarmed the pitch to celebrate their team’s victory whereas the Kings players were consoling each other.
