The 10- man Bashundhara Kings retained the Federation Cup Football title beating 12th time champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd by 5-3 goal in tie breaker at the Mymensingh District Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
With the day's feat, Bashundhara Kings not only clinched the Federation Cup crown for the 2nd consecutive times but also took a sweet revenge of their defeat against Abahani Ltd in qualifier 1 match of the Federation Cup early this month.
In that match, a 10-man Dhaka Abahani Ltd beat Bashundhara Kings in the similar fashon in the tie breaker.
The marathon final match between two teams moved towards tie breaking session as match was locked in 1-1 goals in stipulated 90- minute and also in the extra session of 30 minutes, held in two days in a gap of one week.
The ill-fated final match, which was postponed in 105th minute of the play last Tuesday due to insufficient light at the Mymensingh stadium following heavy rain and cyclonic winds, today (Tuesday) also failed to produce any result in the remaining 15 minutes of the play and rolled the match towards tie breaker.
In the day's 15 minutes play, both the teams failed to make any significant attempts to take the result in their favour and decided the fate of the match through penalty shoot out.
In the penalty shootout, Brazilian midfielder Jonathan Fernandes, Shekh Morsalin, captan Topu Barman, Insan Hossain and Brazilian booter Daciel Elias converted all five spot kicks correctly to win the match.
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On the other hand, Brazilian medio Raphael Augusto, Mahadi Khan Sabuj and Mirajul of Abahani scored from spot kicks while the other attempt of Nigerian forward Emeka ogbugh brilliantly saved by Kings custodian Mehedi Hasan Srabon.
In the last Tuesday's 105th minute match, Argentine forward Juan Lescano gave Bashundhara Kings an early lead in the 6th minute with a well-placed header from the danger zone, capitalizing on a free-kick delivered by defender Mohammad Saaduddin (1-0).
But the lead was short-lived, as Abahani’s Mohammad Ibrahim equalized in the 13th minute with a precise placing shot from close range, set up by a cutback from Nigerian forward Emeka (1-1).
Bashundhara Kings were reduced to 10 men in the 102nd minute when Foysal Ahmed Fahim was shown a straight red card for an illegal tackle, and the Kings were forced to play the remaining part of the final with ten players.
Earlier, the title-deciding clash between the two arch-rivals was initially halted last Tuesday in the second minute of the second half following heavy rain and strong winds.
After more than an hour’s break, the match resumed on the day in a waterlogged, muddy, and slippery pitch.
Later, referee Saimon Hasan Sunny was forced to suspend the game again on the day after the first extra-time session (105th minute) due to insufficient light, as the Mymensingh venue lacks floodlights.
Awards winners of the Federation Cup Football :
Man of the Match (Final): Mehdi Hasan Srabon (Bashundhara Kings)
Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Mitul Marma (Abahani Limited Dhaka)
Most Valuable Player (MVP): Topu Barman (Bashundhara Kings)
Highest Goal Scorers: Seven players finished as joint top scorers of the tournament scoring three goals each
They are:
1. Topu Barman – Bashundhara Kings
2. Arif Hossain – Mohammedan SC Ltd
3. Nabib Newaz – Rahmatgonj MFS
4. Samuel Boateng – Rahmatgonj MFS
5. Sazzad Hossen – Brothers Union Ltd
6. Mustapha Drammeh – Brothers Union Ltd
7. Mohammad Ibrahim – Abahani Limited Dhaka
Fair Play Trophy : Rahmatgonj MFS