Farashganj stun Abahani

Farashganj Sporting Club stunned defending champion Dhaka Abahani Limited with a narrow 1-0 defeat in the Bangladesh Premier League 2016-17 season at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday evening. The Sky Blues' amazing unbeaten run of 23 matches in the top-flight league also came to an end with the surprising defeat against the Old Dhaka outfit, who are one of the two newly-promoted clubs this season. Abahani were unbeaten throughout the last edition of the league, winning a total of 15 matches. They also won their opening match against the other newcomer Saif Sporting Club, generally considered a better outfit than Farashganj, in the league's tournament opener on Friday.

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The five-time professional league champion Abahani dominated the game from the very beginning but struggled to create clear-cut goal-scoring chances on the waterlogged pitch. Rubel Miah was seen initiating attacks through the right flank on several occasions but it was not enough to test the solid defending from Farashganj, led admirably by Gambian defender Malick Mendy. Croatian head coach Drago Mamic was forced to make an early substitution in the 26th minute when Sohel Rana was replaced by midfielder Imtiaz Sultan Jitu. The first half ended goalless with only one notable chance when in-form Nigerian striker Emeka Darlington headed over the bar following a cross from Rubel. The Sky Blues' amazing unbeaten run of 23 matches in the top-flight league came to an end with the surprising defeat against the Old Dhaka outfit DHAKA TRIBUNETouhidur Zaman Liton put Farashganj ahead against the run of play in the 76th minute, following a brisk counter-attack. Receiving a lob inside the box, Liton skipped past defender Rayhan Hasan and goalkeeper Sohel before slotting home calmly into an empty net. Rayhan could have done better to stop Liton. Rubel tried his luck with a curved shot from the top of the box in the 88th minute only to see his effort fly inches over the crossbar.

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Abahani missed a series of chances during the injury time of more than five minutes. Tall midfielder Landing Darboe came off the bench, replacing defender Samad Yussif, a minute after the goal but the Gambian squandered the best chance of the game in the 93rd minute, despite being in a one-on-one situation inside the box. Rubel shot over the bar from another attack moments later. Meanwhile, Mohammedan Sporting Club will face rising powerhouse Chittagong Abahani Limited on Thursday at the BNS while Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Team BJMC take on each other in the day’s other game at the same venue.RESULTFarashganj 1 (Liton 76) 0 Abahani THURSDAY'S MATCHESMohammedan v Ctg Abahani, BNS, 4:30pmSk Jamal v BJMC, BNS, 6:45pm