Abahani Ltd. failed to break the wicked jinx of settling for a point as they drew goalless for the third consecutive time in their Bangladesh Premier Football League encounter against Chittagong Abahani at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Abahani suffered from the same scoreline against Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell in their previous two matches.
Yesterday’s match also marked the end of Abahani’s second phase in the league with 34 points from 18 matches as they lie 2nd in the points table. However, Mohammedan is sitting 3rd with 29 points having played two games less.
It was the same old tale of Abahani dominating the proceedings without actually succeeding in scoring a goal as their attackers again appeared to be going through motions. Their misfiring performance has now gifted Abahani with the undesirable record of failing to find the back of the net in three consecutive matches in the league for the first time in the club’s illustrious history.
Abahani could have taken the lead in the very first minute if their Cameroonian forward Ekele Patrick,even though unchallenged, had not shot wide from the middle of the box.
Abahani mounted ceaseless pressure and opened up their opponent’s defense in the 20th minute when midfielder Pranotosh saw his cracking shot punched away to safety by Chittagong Abahani custodian Nahiduddin. Pranotosh was left cursing his luck again in the 61st minute when his goal-bound header from a curved in corner by Portuguese forward Suares was punched away for another corner by the outstretched Nahiduddin who had a good match under the bar.
With frustration gripping Abahani gradually, Chittagong Abahani started to invade their opponent’s defense as Guinean forward Osmane Cherrif unleashed a fierce left-footed drive from the top of the box in the 72nd minute, only to see the ball slam the crosspiece after kissing the gloves of Abahani goalie Shahidul Alam Sohel on its way.
Abahani Ltd. survived a major scare in the 75th minute when skipper Md. Sujon cleared a goal-bound shot from Chittagong Abahani forward Sohel Mia. This proved to be Chittagong Abahani’s
best and last opportunity of salvaging anything other than a point from an otherwise dull performance.
Chittagong Abahani now have 10 points from 18 matches and is languishing at the bottom of the point table.