Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited hinted that they could be a force to be reckoned with this season as the former Bangladesh Premier League champions kicked off the campaign with a thrashing 4-0 win over Brothers Union in their Independence Cup opener Monday.
The new star they could rely on is Brazilian signing Higor Leite who netted a sensational brace on Bangladesh debut before providing a whimsical assist.
The club’s new playmaker showed his class with the first touch on target, softly volleying over the onrushing goalkeeper into the net in the 11th minute.
Higor passed the ball to Nigerian winger Dimgba from midfield and ran into the box.
Dimgba with a beautiful lob fed the Brazilian for the final stroke.
The 30-year old former Fluminense midfielder then fired into the top right corner from a free-kick distanced almost 34 yards to double the lead in the 36th minute.
After a few missed attempts, Colombian debutant striker Bladimir Diaz got his goal, converting a cutback by Joynal Abedin a minute before the hour mark.
Sazzad Hossain made a good impact after coming on as a substitute as the forward first narrowly missed a flying header before sealing the win in emphatic fashion.
His first touch to collect a long ball from Higor before swinging past the keeper was something national team head coach Javier Cabrera would have taken note.
Jamal formed a formidable squad as it also has current national duo Sakil Hossain, forward Foysal Ahmed Fahim and former Bashundhara Kings duo, midfielder Atiqur Rahman Fahad and defender Mahmudul Hasan Kiron.
Cabrera was closely watching from the stands.
Jamal, the former three-time premier league champions, have not won any silverware since 2015 and finished in mid table last season.
This time, they started with new colors in white and sky blue jersey at Kings Arena and a group of players who have shown bright prospects to finish better.