Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s three foreign forwards shone again as the new Dhaka powerhouse retained the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League title by beating Mohammedan 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Wedson Anselme, Emeka Darlington and Landing Darboe continued their brilliant form by netting one apiece to give the Dhanmondi giants their third premier league title with two games to spare. Mohammedan tried their best to halt the champions’ charge but Jewel Rana and Ismael Bangoura’s goals were just not enough.
With an amazing tally of 45 points from 18 matches, Sheikh Jamal moved 11 points clear of second-placed Mohammedan in the 11-team points table to ensure their second consecutive title, a feat that was only achieved by Abahani previously. It was also their second silverware at home this season, and third overall, after triumphing in the Federation Cup and King’s Cup in Bhutan.
The trophy was given to the champions right after the game. Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin was the chief guest yesterday and handed over the trophy to Joseph Afusi, Manjur Kader et al.
It has been an amazing season for Sheikh Jamal’s attacking trio of Wedson, Emeka and Landing. The former two are jointly at the top of the highest scorers’ list with 17 goals while Landing has 12, including yesterday’s winner.
Sheikh Jamal’s Nigerian head coach Joseph Afusi credited his players for the title success.
“We got the success only because my players played well. They deserve all the credit. It’s true that they (foreign trio) made a difference but they couldn’t have performed like this if they didn’t have support from the local players. Now, we concentrate on qualifying for the AFC Cup,” Afusi told the media after the game.
Sheikh Jamal’s talismanic midfielder Mamunul Islam on the other hand said their decision to train during the Eid vacation this year paid off in some style.
“Credit goes to my team mates for the title. We deserve it. We worked hard to retain the title. We did not even enjoy a vacation during Eid. Rather, we trained hard. You have to play some extraordinary matches to become champions and we did it, against Mohammedan and Sheikh Russell. Now, our target is to win the next one and make it a hat-trick of titles.”
