An intense first-half show saw Mohammedan Sporting Club sweep into the semifinals of the Federation Cup after four years handing a disorganized Chattogram Abahani 2-0 defeat in their quarterfinal match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium Monday.
Winger Sahed Hossain gave the breakthrough against his last season’s club before in-form Malian striker Souleymane Diabate doubled the lead to set semifinal clash with Rahmatganj MFS on Thursday.
Mohammedan coach Sean Lane continued to shuffle his squad and formation as the British tactician gave Sahed his first appearance of the season alongside midfielder Anik Hossain while his counterpart Maruful Haque kept his eleven unchanged keeping injured Brazilian striker Nixon Brizolara out.
The Black and Whites went ahead in the 25th minute capitalizing Ikbol Jon’s failure to clear Yousuf Sifat’s through as Sahed drifted past the Uzbek defender before slotting past goalkeeper Md Nehal.
#Liton heroics show #Abahani exit door of #Fed #Cup https://t.co/fXb7JIfiSp
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Souleymane netted his first goal of the season five minutes later with a brilliant left-footed finish while being surrounded by defenders on his both sides inside the box.
Maruful’s side showed no sign of coming back after the resumption as Lane switched his formation from 3-4-3 to 4-3-3 with an intention to keep the lead. They could have conceded another if Souleymane’s attempt was not denied by sidepost in the 75th minute.
Only Ivorian midfielder Charles Didier lifted some hopes for Chattogram outfits but goalkeeper Suzan Hossain tipped his efforts away in either side of the break.
“Our players were over confident after beating Bashundhara Kings which cost them the game. Congratulations to Mohammedan for outstanding performance.” Maruful said at the post-match conference.
Sean is still looking for right combination and players’ position but delighted with the win. “I’m very pleased with the fantastic performance. They stopped their key players and played according to the gameplan that worked.”
Mohammedan 2 (Sahed 25, Souleymane 30) – 0 Chattogram Abahani
Mohammedan: Suzan Hossain; Stanley Amadi, Habibur Rahman Sohag, Rakib Khan (Kamrul Islam), Mohammad Atikuzzaman; Ugochukwu Moneke, Uryu Nagata, Anik Hossain (Md Mithu), Sahed Hossain, Yusuf Sifat (Farad Mona); Soulemane Diabate.
Chattogram Abahani: Md Nehal; Monjurur Rahman, Ikbol Jon, Nasirul Islam, Monir Alam; Shukur Ali, Charles Didier, Monaem Khan Raju, Rakib Hossain, Shakhawat Rony (Mannaf Rabbi); Chinedu Mathew.
