Wedson Anselme, the Haitian forward of table toppers Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club broke Brothers Union’s heart by scoring a brace in an action packed second phase match of the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier League which ended 3-2 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The action packed match saw Brothers’ new Nigerian midfielder Simon Ezeodka score a stunning goal in the first-half which was complemented by Jamal’s Haitian star Sony Norde. But when the match was surely heading for a draw, Brothers’ custodian Sujon, who earlier had foiled a number of Jamal attacks all alone, lost the grip of a tame Wedson shot to inflict defeat to his own team.
The initial proceedings were slow and sluggish with both the teams trying to set the tone. Brothers naturally was in a defensive mood as the three-pronged attack of Jamal comprising the Haitian duo of Norde and Wedson, plus the Nigerian Emeka Darlington are more than capable of creating havoc to any defense and they eventually did.
Brothers, relying on their young guns, fought shoulder to shoulder and were inspired by the superb strike of their new signing Simon Ezeodka. However, they ran out of steam in countering the relentless attacks of their opponents.
Sheikh Jamal took the lead in the 17th minute off a penalty by Norde before Nigerian midfielder Simon Ezeodka scored the wonderful equaliser within three minutes.
Six minutes into the second-half, Brothers shocked Jamal to take the lead. Defender Yasim missed the line of a regulation long ball and Kester Akon took control before chipping it into the far post. This meant Jamal had to show their character typical of a strong team and thankfully Wedson brought Jamal back into the game with a superb solo effort in the 61st minute. Defying the attempted offside trap, Wedson went past his marker as well as Brothers’ goalkeeper Sujon before drilling a low shot into the far post.
Brothers were let down by their goalkeeper Sujon in the 90th minute when he failed to grip a shot of Wedson.