Abahani Limited, the most successful club in the history of Bangladesh, bagged yet another trophy as they won the Federation Cup for record 12th time Sunday.
The Sky Blues beat Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society 2-1 at Birsreshtha Sipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur.
This is second trophy for the Dhanmondi-based giants this season after winning the Independence Cup.
This is the first Federation Cup trophy in three years for Abahani, who now have two more trophies than their arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited.
Daniel Colindres, who was adjudged player of the tournament, opened the scoring for Abahani before Rakib Hossain doubled the lead.
Philip Aza pulled one back for Rahmatganj but could not beat the more experienced Abahani outfit further.
However, Abahani made a slow start and Rahmatganj actually created some chances in the first half, especially from counter attacks.
Abahani missed experienced defender Sushanta Tripura due to injury and the defense looked shaky at times.
But their goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel did well to save a few Rahmatganj attempts.
During the 12th minute of the match Rahmatganj’s Nigerian recruit Sunday Chizoba, who played for Abahani for the last four years, beat the Sky Blues defence but took a misdirected shot when Sohel came out of the box to intercept him.
Aza missed another chance as Sohel parried away his shot two minutes later.
Abahani captain Nabib Newaj Jibon missed an opportunity in the 28th minute when he got the ball off a Jewel Rana header in an one-to-one position against Rahmatganj keeper Rakibul Hasan but his shot went high.
Abahani took the lead in first half injury time somewhat against the run of play.
Colindres received a Rakib pass outside the box before his powerful drive beat Rakibul.
Abahani missed Brazilian striker Raphael Augusto due to injury and to pluck the gap coach Mario Lemos deployed a 4-3-3 where Colindres had to play both in No 9 position and also as withdrawn attacker in deeper positions.
Colindres wrecked havoc earlier in the second half as Abahani gained momentum.
But the Costa Rican World Cupper missed a couple of chances in the 49th minute and 51st minute.
However, Abahani got their second goal in the hour mark.
Nurul Naim Foysal took a powerful shot after dribbling past a defender.
His shot was fisted away by Rakibul but Rakib scored a tap-in from the rebound.
Rahmatganj, who showed great fighting spirit throughout the tournament, got one goal back in the 70th minute.
Aza took an angular shot to beat Sohel at goal after dodging defender Mamun Mia having received a through ball from Shahriar Bappy.
But Abahani made sure the lead was defended and added another glorious chapter in their trophy-filled history.
Coach Lemos felt content after the win and termed it a special achievement.
“We missed Rafael and Dorielton, so I deployed Colindres near the box. It was a tough much. I felt the pressure. This trophy was special to me,” said the Portuguese.
Colindres was also happy after the match and said “shabash” in Bengali to Abahani fans.
