Dhaka Abahani lift 10th Fed Cup title

Dhaka, June 6: Abahani Limited, Dhaka lifted their tenth Federation Cup title beating Chittagong Abahani 3-1 in the final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday.

This year’s edition, sponsored by Walton, saw Abahani remain unbeaten throughout the tournament.

Abahani forward Nabib Nawaz Jibon put his side ahead in the 37th minute following a quick move. Taking control of the ball in the left edge of the box, Jibon unleashed a blistering right footer that deflected off defender Krishna Pad deceiving goalie Md. Nehal in the far post (1-0).

Due to a power disruption, the match was stopped in the 39th minute and eight minutes stoppage time was added to make up for the lost time.

Emon Babu, the hard working midfielder extended the lead in the second minute of the additional time of the first half with a superb strike. Raihan Hasan’s long throw from the right flank was cleared by the Chittagong Abahnai defence but when the ball flew to the top of the box, unmarked Emon Babu generated a cracking volley that gave Nehal no chance to react (2-0).

Three minutes after the restart, Abahani was sitting on a three goal cushion. Left back Wali Faysal danced down the left flank and cut a low cross to Emeka Darlington. The Nigerian forward hit the top of the net with a flat footed shot (3-0).

Chittagong Abahani came close to reducing the margin on the hour mark. Forward Shakhawat Hossain Rony broke through the defence and cracked a low right footer that stretched Abahani goalie Sohel to his limit. The re-bounder was picked by another Chittagong Abahnai forward, Towhidul Alam Sobuj, but he put the ball straight to Sohel who recovered to get back to his position.

Ctg Abahani forward Alison Udoka, however, succeeded to reduce the margin in the 81st minute off a penalty that was won by him. Udoka was brought down by Nabib Nawaz Jibon inside the box and the Nigerian forward stepped up to convert the spot kick successfully (3-1).

State minister for youth and sports Biren Sikder distributed the prizes as the chief guest.