Sheikh Russel KC marked its name in the history books as the first Bangladeshi club to earn a second-round slot in the AFC President’s Cup with a 4-0 win over Ugyen Academy in their last group A match at Shughatdasa Stadium, Colombo yesterday.
Following the comprehensive victory, Russel finished at the top of group A with seven points. Having started the tourney with a goalless draw against KRL Club of Pakistan, Russel gradually found their rhythm which elevated them to the top of the group. Russel thrashed local outfit Sri Lanka Air Force 5-0 with Mithun Chowdhury notching a brace and Pascal Millien, Shakil Ahmed and Sobuj Kumar Biswas adding one each.
With a second-round ticket almost confirmed Russel, however, did not display any complacency against the weakest team of the group. With an attacking line-up and aggressive approach, Russel cornered their opponents from the very beginning and took the lead in the 14th minute through their Haitian forward Pascal. The wily forward capitalised a through pass from Mithun and placed the ball into the net.
The strike charged up Russel and the lead was doubled in the 21st minute as roles were reversed with Mithun scoring and Pascal turning up as the provider.
Winger Shakil gave Russel a three-goal cushion in the 28th minute as Pascal curved a cross from the right flank and Shakil, who was unmarked, thumped a placing shot into the net. The Bangladeshi top-flight club went into the break 3-0 up.
After resumption, Russel concentrated upon consolidating their authority but had to wait for the fourth goal till the 88th minute of the game. Mithun grabbed his second, and his fourth of the tournament, after a combined move.
Russel are yet to concede a goal in the three matches they have played so far in addition to the nine goals they have scored in the previous two matches. Club president Nurul Alam Chowdhury awarded a bonus of $10,000 for the team for its history-making feat.
In the final match of the group, Sri Lanka Air Force defeated KRL Club of Pakistan 3-0 and had double cause for joy having finished as the runners-up side and claiming the second slot from the group. Dumina opened the scoring in the third minute, Hashan doubled the lead in the seventh minute and Kavidu added the third in the ninth minute. Sri Lanka Air Force completed their campaign with six points while KRL finished with four. Ugyen Academy failed to register a single point.
Earlier, Dhaka Abahani were unable to go past the first round of the AFC President’s Cup on five occasions although Dhaka Mohammedan did appear in the second round of the AFC Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996-97.
